FDB organises food safety workshop

Sat, October 02, 2010
THE Food and Drugs Board (FDB) has organised a day's sensitisation workshop on food safety for Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) within the Greater Accra Region.
As part of the training the participants who work in the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) and therefore in the various communites, were reminded that the sale or the offer for sale of any food items found to contain poisonous or harmful substances was considered an offence under the Food and Drugs Law and culprits would be punished.
The Head of Food Safety Management Unit of the FDB, Ms Marian Lovelace Johnson served as a facilitator for the workshop.
She indicated that Section 1 of PNDC Law 305B which pertains to food, provided that "Any person who sells or offers any food that: (a) has or upon it any poisonous or harmful substance; (b) is unwholesome or unfit for human consumption; (c) consists in whole or in part any filthy, putrid, rotten, decomposed or diseased substance (d) is injurious to health, commits an offence".
In addition, the law under section 3 indicated that "any person who labels, packages, sells or advertises any food in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive as regards its character, nature, value, substance, quality, composition, merit or safety commits an offence.”
As a deterrent, section 42 of the law states that any person who commits an offence under that law for which no special penalty was provided shall be liable on conviction. It further states that (a) in the case of a first offence, to a fine not exceeding two hundred penalty units or to a term not exceeding six month, or to both the fine and the imprisonment, or (b) in the case of a subsequent offence to
a fine not exceeding five hundred penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years or both the fine and the imprisonment.
Addressing the participants, Ms Johnson said under offences by bodies of persons, section 43 provided that where an offence was committed under the Act or under the Regulations by a body of persons, in the case of body corporate, either than a partnership, every director or officer of that body should be deemed to have committed that offence and in case of a partnership, every partner or officer of that body should be deemed to have committed that offence.
Touching on Section 4 of the Act, she said where a standard had been prescribed under any enactment for any food, any person who manufactured, labelled, sold, or advertised any food in such manner that was likely to be mistaken for food of the prescribed standard, committed an offence.
Under "Provision against sale of food not of nature, substance or quality demanded", Section 5 of the act pointed out that any person who sold to the prejudice of a purchaser any food which was not of nature, substance or quality of the article demanded by the purchaser committed an offence.
In her explanation to Section 7, Ms Johnson said any person who sold, prepared, conveyed, stored or displayed for sale any food under unsanitary condition, committed an offence, adding that anyone who sold offered or exposed for sale or deposited with or consigned to any person the purpose of sale, any food intended for, but unfit for human consumption was liable to the law.
Ms Johnson took the opportunity to advise the (EHO) to be on the look-out and ensure that quality and safe food was offered for sale in the communities to protect the lives of the people.
She indicated that the officers were authorised to ensure that the right thing was done.
She quoted Section 36 of the Law which provided that "Any authorised officer may at an hour reasonable for the proper performance of a function under this Act, (a) enter any premises where the officer believed an article to which this Act applies is prepared, preserved, packed, stored or conveyed, and examine the article, take samples and examine anything that the officer believes is used or is capable of being used for the preparation, preservation, packaging, storing or conveying of the articles", among others.
She pointed out that any person who obstructed or impeded an authorised officer in the course of the officer's duties or by gratuity, bribe, promise or any other inducement prevents, or attempted to prevent, the due execution by the authorised officer of duties the Act or the Regulations, committed an offence.