The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has secured a conviction against Emmanuel Osafo Nyantachi, the owner of Healthy Living and Organic Lifestyle Consult, for selling unregistered food supplements.
A statement issued by the Chief Executive Officer, FDA Delese Darko, said FDA’s determination to enforce its regulations was underscored by the Sunyani Circuit Court’s ruling on Wednesday, 5th July 2023, imposing a fine of GHC90,000.00 (equivalent to 7,500 penalty units) or a 24-month prison sentence with hard labour.
The investigation, led by Mr. Richard Kyeremeh Yeboah, a Senior Regulatory Officer, revealed that Nyantachi’s business was selling unregistered food supplements despite multiple warnings and directives from the FDA Bono Regional Office.
The FDA issued several letters instructing Nyantachi to suspend the production, sale, and distribution of the unregistered food supplements, and to take the necessary steps to register them with the FDA.
However, Nyantachi failed to comply with these directives, leading to further regulatory action from the Authority.
“The Sunyani Circuit Court’s verdict should send a strong message to others who flout FDA’s regulations and be assured that the FDA is determined to crack down on defaulters and protect the public from potentially harmful products,” the statement said.
Unregistered Diapers Warning
The FDA, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Customs Division, and Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) have warning against the emerging practice where disposable baby diapers are imported into the country, either unhygienically packaged in bales or hidden in bales of used clothing.
According to the organisations, these are subsequently repackaged and offered for sale without adequate label information or no labelling information at all.
“This practice does not conform to the regulatory requirements and the packaging and labeling requirements of the Ghana Standard (GS 1166:2017) for disposable baby diapers.
The safety of the materials used for baby diapers is checked during the FDA product registration processes. As such, the FDA cannot guarantee the levels of any toxins, dyes or skin irritants that may be present in unregistered baby diapers,” it said in a joint press release.
In addition, the organisations asserted that the frequent handling of diapers, usually under insanitary conditions, can cause germs to enter the genital region which poses a great danger to the health and well-being of babies and children, especially the girl child.
The FDA, GRA Customs Division and the GSA wish to inform manufacturers, importers, and distributors of baby diapers that only diapers that have been duly registered by the FDA and that meet the Ghana Standard (GS 1166:2017) can be imported and offered for sale.
“Furthermore, all registered diapers imported into the country must be well-packaged and properly sealed to protect the product from moisture, soiling, contamination and damage during transportation, storage and distribution throughout the product’s shelf-life.
The importation of unregistered and unhygienically packaged baby diapers into the country will result in their seizure and safe disposal at a cost to the importer,” the statement indicated.
The FDA, GRA and GSA urged the public to buy only registered baby diapers properly packaged and labelled and are listed on the FDA website to help protect babies from the risk of infections.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri