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November
Swaziland - Government embarks on food safety control project
17 Nov 2008
The Swazi Observer - Teetee Zwane [edited][iFSN]
According to this story, the Government has embarked on a project aimed at developing an effective food safety control management system. "Many times our agricultural products have been rejected in the international market because of non-compliance with required standards," noted the Ministry of Agriculture Principal Secretary. Speaking during the official launch of the SADC SPS/Food Safety capacity building workshop at Mphophoma, he said it was imperative that the country develops an effective food safety control management system so as to protect the health of consumers as well as be able to participate in regional and international trade. He said the project, which aims at supporting national food safety control systems, would assist the country in upgrading its regulatory framework, infrastructure and human resource capacity.
Ghana - Workshop on Avian Influenza opens in Sunyani
November 3, 2008
Ghana News Agency [EatSafeGhana]
A workshop aimed at controlling outbreak and transmission of Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) in the West African sub-region has opened in Sunyani.
The three-day event was attended by chief veterinary officers, personnel of security agencies and stakeholders in the poultry industry drawn from Ghana, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin and Cote D’Ivoire.
It is on the theme “improving effective cross-border collaboration in management of the highly pathogenic Avian Influenza out break in West Africa”.
Opening the workshop, Mrs. Anna Nyamekye, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in charge of livestock, said that a total of 40,000 birds were lost to the bird flu as a result of natural death and through culling during the outbreak of the disease in Tema, Aflao and Sunyani in 2007.
She said, consequently, government paid GHC 160,000 to affected farmers and traders, who lost birds and other poultry products, as compensation.
Mrs. Nyamekye said that since 2006, some African countries had experienced outbreaks of the Avian Influenza.
She said that the recent re-occurrence of the bird flu in Nigeria in July and Togo in September 2008, posed a great threat to neighbouring countries.
Mrs. Nyamekye said since July 2007, the veterinary services directorate of the Ministry had focused its resources on preventive strategic to ensure early warning, detection and rapid response to Avian Influenza.
“These activities have been made possible through the implementation of a number of projects, with financial and material support from government and our development partners, EU, FAO, ADB, DFID and USAID” she said.
Mrs. Nyamekye explained that considering the importance and key role of bio-security in the control of animal diseases including bird flu, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) supported the veterinary services directorate with 50,000 dollars in organising country-wide training for poultry farmers in GHana.
She said the European Union (EU) Avian Influenza Project, was also launched in March this year in the country and that active surveillance on domestic and wild birds was carried out in June and July 2008.
Mrs. Nyamekye explained that the purpose of the active surveillance was to provide enough information for the World Animal Health Organisation, to prove freedom of infection of the disease in the country and that a total of 1,247 samples were collected and tested negative for the disease.
She said government had helped in improving capacities of the veterinary laboratories and also equipped the laboratories with needed reagents and consumables for diagnosis of Avian Influenza.
Mrs. Nyamekye said “At present, only the Accra veterinary laboratory is well equipped to carry out diagnosis of the disease. A second veterinary laboratory well equipped and capable of diagnosing Avian Influenza is required especially in Kumasi, where a large concentration of stock of poultry exists”, she said.
She stressed the need to encourage and facilitate formation of poultry farmers’ associations at the rural level.
Mrs. Nyamekye said this could assist the associations to collaboration with groups in neighbouring countries towards the control of the disease.
Dr. Ebenezer B.M. Konney, Acting Director of Ghana Veterinary Service, said Sunyani was selected for the meeting because of the high poultry density in the region, particularly in the Dormaa-Ahenkro area that was close to Cote D’Ivoire.
He said the outbreak of the Avian Influenza had decreased significantly world-wide this year but the recent “outbreaks in Nigeria and Togo should be a source of worry to the people in West Africa, because it indicated persistence of the virus in the sub-region.
October
Mozambique, singing a song of sanitation and hoping to change habits
25 Oct 2008
New York Times Barry Bearak [edited][iFSN]
According to this story, Feliciano dos Santos one of southern Africa’s leading musicians, is known in the highland villages for songs about going to the bathroom and washing your hands when you are done.
Ghana - FDB Raises Alarm about Improper Handling of Meat Products
Graphic Online [EatSafeGhana]
According to this story, an inspection of cold storage facilities in Accra and Tema by officials of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) has revealed a trend of poor sanitation and improper packaging of meat and fish with serious implications for the safety of consumers. At a workshop organised by the board on good cold store storage practices, the Head of Animal Products and Safety Department of the board said there was ample evidence of chemical and biological contamination of meat and fish in most of the cold stores inspected. He said although a few of the cold stores operated under very hygienic conditions, majority of them were deeply steeped in practices that clearly posed serious health risks to consumers.Photos of poorly packaged meat and fish dumped on the bare floor and packaged close to walls with paint that was peeling off, were shown to the participants. He said recommendations were made to defaulting companies to ensure adherence to good cold storage procedure and explained that in very bad situations, the board suspended operations, destroyed stocks and ensured that basic good cold storage practices were implemented before such companies resumed operations.
The Chief Executive Officer of the FDB, in a speech read on his behalf, said between January and October, 2008, close to 15,000 cartons of imported unwholesome products had been destroyed in Tema alone. According to him, that translated into a loss of about GH¢4,500,000 worth of revenue.
September
Ghana – FDB suspends Chinese milk importsSept 24, 2008
Ghana News [Eat Safe Ghana]
According to this story, the Food and Drugs Board (FDB,) in collaboration with the Ministries of Health and Trade and Industry has with immediate effect, suspended the importation of all milk and milk products meant for human consumption manufactured in China. This includes all food products that have milk as an ingredient, the Chief Executive Officer of FDB, said at a press conference in Accra on Tuesday. The suspension is as a result of the current food safety alert on contamination of milk, especially infant formula and milk products of Chinese origin, specifically Sanlu and found to contain melamine, a nitrogen-based material dangerous to human health. Other milk products such as powdered milk, liquid milk, candies, cookies, milk tablets, toffees, cream crackers, egg rolls, yoghurt drinks and chocolates from China are affected by the ban. Thousands of infants have become sick and four babies have died in China after being fed baby formula laced with melamine, a banned industrial chemical. He explained that importers who might have shipped any of the affected products prior to this notice would have their consignments, whether registered with FDB or not, detained at the ports of entry pending further investigations. Meanwhile, importers of affected products would be required to submit a certificate of analysis to FDB indicating the melamine status of every consignment to be issued by government agency responsible for food safety and quality from the country of origin. The Chief Executive Officer of FDB called on local manufacturers that used milk based materials or any milk in their production process to refrain from any such raw material of Chinese origin until further notice. He advised the general public not to panic as the appropriate regulatory measures were being implemented to ensure public health and safety. A Deputy Chief Executive Officer in-Charge of Food, said though no company had registered with the Board to import such products from China, "it does not mean our market is safe." He assured the public that the Board's Post-Market Surveillance team was on the ground to ensure that such products were withdrawn from the shelves in the markets.
Burundi - Ban on Chinese milk products
21 Sep 2008
AFP (Agence France Presse) [edited] [Promed]
According to this story, Burundi became the 3rd African nation to ban Chinese milk products, after tainted milk from the country killed 4 babies in China and made thousands of others ill, the government said Sunday [21 Sep 2008]. A Burundi consumer association, known as ABUCO, expressed concern that tainted milk products were already being stocked in the country's shops. It is also reported that on Saturday [20 Sep 2008], Gabon and Tanzania banned Chinese milk products and all Chinese dairy products
August
Ghana - EPA Bans 25 Dangerous Agro-Chemicals
30 Aug 2008
Graphic Online [EatSafe Ghana]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has banned the importation of 25 agro-chemicals because of their toxicological risks to people, animals, crops and the environment. The Daily Graphic reported. The Director of EPA in charge of Pesticides, said the agency was in the process of reviewing the list of registered agro chemicals allowed into the country.He said those given provisional certificates were being tested and if found not to be suitable for local conditions would be included in the ban.He explained that some chemicals had been placed under restricted use and were only applied on selected crops by competent pesticide experts and were being sold by dealers licensed to handle restricted pesticides.He said some of the banned chemicals that were being used in the agricultural and mining sectors included Toxaphene, Aldrin, Enderin, Chordane, Captafol and DDT.He said even though DDT was a potent force in the control and eradication of mosquitoes and many countries were lifting the ban on the chemical, it was still a banned substance in the country.He said that 118 chemicals had been fully registered for importation into the country after undergoing testing for efficacy and safety under local conditions.The category of the licensed chemical that could be imported included insecticides, fungicides and herbicides that had been used in the agricultural sector without any adverse effects. The Director of Pesticides said the EPA was working closely with the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service and other stakeholders to prevent the country from being turned into a dumping ground for chemicals that were harmful to human beings, animals, crops and the environment.He said the EPA was also encouraging scientists in the country to put more emphasis on biological control methods to reduce the over-reliance on chemicals, which sometimes contaminated water bodies.He said, however, that the EPA only allowed the importation of some unregistered chemicals if the pesticides were imported for experimental and research purposes.He said 24 agro-chemicals had been given provisional clearance because most of the information required had been provided and the chemical did not pose any risk to human beings and the environment.He said the clearance was temporary for one year pending the testing and registration.He said during the review if those given provisional certificates were found not to be effective for the use for which they were intended, the EPA would have no option but to ban them.
Ghana - FDB Bans 'Garisoaking'
22 August 2008
New time [EatSafe Ghana]
According to this story, the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) has directed the manufacturers of "Garisoaking Garsoak", a food product in Kumasi, to stop the production and distribution of the product immediately. The directive, issued on Wednesday, also asked that the product be removed from the market. "Garisoaking Garsoak" is a mixture of gari, sugar and powdered milk, packaged in sachets, manufactured by a Kumasi-based company.A statement issued by the Kumasi office of the FDB on August 20 further directed the manufacturers to stop the unapproved electronic media advertisement of the product, stressing that the product is not wholesome and may be dangerous to health. The FDB said a visit to the premises of the manufacturer at Anoman-gye, a suburb of Kumasi, showed that the area "is not only unhygienic and unsuitable for food production, but that the board had neither certified the premises nor registered the product." It said, as part of the FDB's regulatory functions under the PNDCL 305 B, 1992, it certifies premises for products it registers and noted that the company lacked the required facilities for the production of the product for consumption.It reiterated the call on the public to desist from patronising the product and assured that "FDB is taking the necessary steps within its statutory mandate to guarantee public safety in that regard.When the Times tried reaching the manufacturer for their reaction to the FDB directives on the Mobile Phone number that is printed on the product, the reply was "the number you have dialled is not correct."
Gambia - Coleman restaurant boss laments on food safety
22 Aug 2008
The Point - Njie Baldeh [edited][iFSN]
The proprietor and Manager of Coleman Restaurant has called on all food operators in the country, particularly those with restaurants, to consider food safety as their priority. The Coleman restaurant boss was speaking recently in an interview with Entertainment .
July
Ghana - Poor Sanitation Tops Causes of Death
15 July 2008
Ghanaian Times [EatSafe Ghana]
Inadequate sanitation leads to eight deaths in the country every hour, topping the list of all causes of mortality, the Health Minister has disclosed. It is reported in this story that he said that the total number of yearly out-patient cases reported with food-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, typhoid, cholera and hepatitis, is about 420,000 with annual death rate of not less than 65,000. The launch, on the theme: "Clean markets, safe food — a healthy people", aimed at establishing a framework for the creation of food safety awareness among stakeholders such as the Ministry of Health, Food and Drugs Board (FDB), Ghana Standards Board (GSB), and the World Health Organisation (WHO). It also sought to demonstrate the way in which safe food delivery can be attained through activating the right partnerships between regulatory institutions, industry, academia and consumers. According to this story, the Health Minister said also that poor hygiene is associated with these diseases. He said the quest for food safety can serve as an entry point for tapping the power of women and children to act as agents of change. It is also reported that he called on all stakeholders to work together and address the issue of food safety in clean markets because consumers expect protection from them.
June
Tanzania - Over 600 food plants have no quality standard
29 June 2008
Tanzania Standard Newspapers - Tuma Abdallah [edited] [iFSN]
More than 600 food processing plants in Tanzania do not have the system to ensure production of goods according to specified quality and safety standards. The Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA) Director General said that more than two thirds (74 per cent) of the factories where comprised of small and micro scale processors. The Director said the revelation came about after an assessment conducted by her authority in various parts of the country and told a National Food Safety symposium for MPs that TFDA had prepared a strategy to improve food processing standards, especially among the small and micro scale factories. A study conducted last year revealed that maize stored in godowns was spoilt due to poor storage, the Director noted and he added that it is estimated that 26 percent of children fed with whole maize flour porridge in Rombo in 2005 consumed higher levels of fumonisin toxin than those specified under Codex.
Nigeria - Government inaugurates committee to probe food poisoning
23 June 2008
allAfrica.com - Segun Awofadeji [edited] [iFSN]
According to this story, a nine-member committee has been constituted by the Gombe state government to look into the circumstances surrounding the consumption of contaminated beans at the Government Girls College, Doma and Government Girls Secondary School, Malala. The members are also to liaise with relevant organisations on the need to guard against future similar incidences.
Ghana - Rotten fish seized by FDB
11 June 2008
Joy Online [edited] [EatSafe Ghana]
According to this story, for the third time this year, authorities of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) in Tamale have confiscated a large quantity of rotten fish from a store that was being sold to the unsuspecting public. This time, 200 cartons of rotten and maggot-infested fish were retrieved from the dysfunctional storage facility. According to the Northern Regional Zonal Officer of the FDB, 150 cartons of unwholesome fish were destroyed in the first offence and 300 cartons of fish were destroyed in the second offence.He quoted portions of the FDB law of 1992 that states clearly that, "Any person who sells or offers for sale any food that consists in whole or part of any filthy, putrid, rotten, decomposed or diseased substance" contravenes the law of the country. He observed that the high patronage of the unwholesome fish could be attributed to the fact that it sold cheaper coupled with the desire of food vendors to maximise profit.
Ghana - Set up epidemic management committee – Dr Ahadzie
11 June 2008
Joy Online [edited] [EatSafe Ghana]
EatSafe Ghana
The Deputy Director and Head of the Disease Surveillance Department, Ghana Health Service, has proposed the setting up of a multi-sectoral Epidemic Management Committee at the national level to coordinate the management and control of epidemics.He said the committee could periodically meet to ascertain and review the epidemic situation regardless of an outbreak, investigate rumours on outbreaks and other public health problems, propose appropriate strategies and measures to restrain epidemics.Speaking at the monthly health talk initiative by the GHS on the topic: "Preparedness and Response to Epidemics", he called for the development of a preparedness and response plan which would facilitate prompt and adequate response to epidemic. He said key elements of the plan should also include functional surveillance system, early warning systems, human resources development, availability of emergency stock of drug and structures to manage cases. He noted that poor urban planning, environmental degradation, climate change and evolution of pathogen were some factors contributing to the occurrence of epidemics. He said cholera, yellow fever, measles, dysentery and food poisoning were some of the predictable epidemics in Ghana while Ebola, Avian and Pandemic Influenza, SARS were not often predictable. He said the management and control of epidemic was not the responsibility of one individual but called on all agencies and stakeholders concerned - NADMO, Ministry of Interior, Transport, Town and Country Planning - to come on board to properly manage such occurrence.
Ghana - GTCA Calls For Comprehensive Policy On Food
03 June 2008
Ghanaian Times [edited] [EatSafe Ghana]
According to this story, the Ghana Traditional Caterers Association (GTCA), has called for a comprehensive policy on food hygiene to curb the current mishandling of prepared food which they described as dangerous and a threat to public health. The GTCA also attributed the situation to a combination of factors such as gaps in the existing regulations and by-laws, proliferation of street and mobile food vendors, lack of legislative mandate for the association to check operations of non-members. Other factors are; lack of formal training in the best practices in food preparation and handling, lack of self-compliance attitude among food vendors as well as laxity in the enforcement of the by-laws governing the sale of prepared street food within the metropolis.The Public Relation Officer of the GTCA, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said a study conducted by health institutions in Ghana in 2002 revealed that about 2.3 million reported cases were food-borne diseases. He referred to a survey conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation between 1995 and 1996, indicating that 94 per cent of street food vendors were uneducated and unskilled women of low income with no formal training in proper handling of food. He said food vendors also lack infrastructure such as potable water, inefficient and unreliable waste disposal system, unhygienic eating places and potable water.
The survey also indicated that food vendors were unaware of the possible sources of food contamination, resulting from raw material acquisition, food preparation, storage during sale and final delivery to the consumer.He said the World Health Organisation supported the above identified problems in 2002 on safe food standards on persistent diarrhoea in Ghana, which also established that about 60 per cent of 951 mothers in urban slums of Accra supplemented their children's diet with street food. He expressed concern that the combined effect of the identified problems was the increasing loss of confidence in local food prepared and sold by street vendors which exposed consumers to various diseases. He said, the situation, if allowed unchecked, can have serious adverse effects on the sustainability of the national health insurance scheme since most of these diseases, such as diarrhoea and cholera, were related to food contamination. He said the GTCA with the support of Business Sector Advocacy Challenge Fund was advocating a comprehensive national policy in food hygiene as well as the revision of the current regulations and by-laws, preparation and sale of food to adequately reflect current needs and the desire to streamline the operations of traditional caterers.
Ghana - Awutu Schools Briefed On Good Nutrition
3 June 2008
Ghanaian Times [edited] [EatSafe Ghana]
According to this story, environmental health officers have been urged to periodically examine food sold at schools to ensure good quality and nutrition for pupils and students at all times.
May
Ghana - Discharge of untreated water into water bodies is health threat
27 May 2008
Ghananews Agency [edited] [Eatsafe Ghana]
It is reported in this story that the discharge of untreated municipal waste water into rivers, lagoons, estuaries or the sea has been identified as one of the most serious threats to the health of coastal populations and sustainable coastal development. Their impact has also compromised the capacity of the marine and coastal ecosystem to support sustainable socio-economic and environmental services resulting in deepening poverty, disease and food insecurity in coastal communities. According to the Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, as part of efforts to elaborate its National Action Programme (NAP) in accordance with the GPA, Ghana had organized a series of stakeholder meetings to review previous strategies, plans and ongoing initiatives to protect the marine and coastal areas from land-based sources of pollution. The interventions include targeted small-scale institutional capacity building, education and awareness programmes, regulatory and socio-economic incentives. He said metro, municipal and district assemblies with jurisdiction over the coastal areas of Ghana had been identified in the NAP as institutions that would take the step in implementation. Moreover, according to the Deputy Executive Director of EPA, waste water was often times discharged with inadequate treatment and appropriate plans and programmes that would treat waste water either from industry or settlements were needed.
Ghana - FDB educates food sellers on food safety
17 May 08
Joy Online - The Ghanaian Times [edited] [iFSN]
The Food and Drugs Board (FDB) has held a public education on food safety and hygiene for traditional caterers at Chorkor, a suburb of Accra. The programme was to impress on the caterers the need to operate in a clean and hygienic environment. The Deputy Chief Executive in-charge of food advocated sustained education, particularly of traditional caterers, who he said, play crucial roles in the lives of people. He said the services of food vendors benefit almost everybody, including international tourists. Saying that most traditional caterers are uneducated and lack appreciation for safe food handling, he cited the pounding of fufu or preparation of banku at street corners in the open and by filthy drains as some of the bad practices.
April
Kenya - WB to launch public health campaign
30 Apr 2008
Business Daily - Maureen Ongwae [edited]
The World Bank is, according to this story, set to launch a public health and sanitation programme in the country to curb diarrhea related diseases. The country hand washing co-ordinator was cited as saying that most diseases like cholera and diarrhoea infections were at a high rate due to improper hand washing behaviour in several household. According to the statistics given by World Bank, only five per cent of Kenyan citizens wash their hands with water and soap compared to four per cent in Tanzania and six per cent in Uganda. Only two per cent of the residents in Kisumu wash their hands with water and soap compared to 12 and 13 per cent in Nyeri and Mombasa respectively yet 97 per cent of the households in the country have access to soap.
Ghana - FDB adopts new measures to check the use of bromide by bakers
7 April 2008
Ghananews Agency [edited] [Eatsafe Ghana]
According to this story, the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) has adopted new measures including unannounced inspection of bakeries and premises of individual bakers in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis as a means of checking the suspected use of potassium bromide in bread baking. It has also decided to give a "handsome" reward to any person who would give information that would help to identify sources of distribution and users of the substance, said to be very injurious to health. The identity of informants would not be disclosed. Members of the Bakers' Association are urged to help the FDB to bring the recalcitrant ones to book, offenders being severely sanctioned if caught. Referring to recent media reports about the alleged use of bromide by some bakers in their operations, it is also reported that these bakers have adversely affected the industry as bread consumption has decreased considerably.
February
Uganda - DDA to issue tough new rules on milk transport vehicles20 Feb 2008
The Daily Monitor Wednesday Business - Dorothy Nakaweesi
The Dairy Development Authority has embarked on a campaign to register and licence vehicles that ferry milk from collection routes to markets, in a move to curb spoilage and contamination of diary products. The trucks and milk tankers have to be designed in accordance with appropriate standards that guarantee ease of cleaning and disinfection, drainage and prevention of contamination to ensure milk safety for public consumption. "Any person who transports milk without a valid registration certificate commits an offence and is liable for prosecution according to the dairy regulations for milk marketing," Ms. Agnes Baguma, the DDA manager for Regulatory Services said. In a sensitisation meeting with the milk transporters and truck owners at DDA board room recently, Ms Baguma deplored the poor state oftrucks and tankers being used to transport milk. "The unsanitary milk trucks and tankers is the major cause of milk spoilage due to multiplication of spoilage micro-organisms overtime," she said, adding that they may also spread infectious cattle diseases like Foot and Mouth Disease. She said milk trucks that are found unsuitable would be withdrawn from the business of transporting raw milk. Dr Nathan Twinamasiko, the DDA executive director said milk trade is taking on a regional outlook with high demand for quality standards.
News source provided by Kimera Henry Richard, Chief Executive of Consumer Education Trust (Consent), gpo box 1433, Kampala – Uganda, info.consent@yahoo.com.
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