The Eastern Regional Office of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has arrested seven owners of Community Information Centers in a dawn swoop operation in Nkawkaw for advertising and selling unregistered drugs.
The operation, carried out with the support of the Ghana Police Service, led to the seizure of several drugs, including aphrodisiacs and herbal products as well as the interdiction of some drug peddlers in the market.
Mrs. Anita Owusu-Kuffour, Eastern Regional Head of FDA, told the Ghana News Agency, that ” the exercise served as a way of safeguarding public health against the consumption or usage of unsubstantive products.”
She noted that without the intervention of the Police in enforcing the law public health would be in danger.
She explained that before any swoop exercise was conducted, the Authority had previously given several public education campaigns on the effects and threats of unsubstantiated products and unregistered products on human health.
The FDA exists to ensure the safety, quality, and efficacy of human and veterinary drugs, food, biological products, cosmetics, medical devices, household chemical substances, and clinical trials, as well as control tobacco products through the enforcement of relevant standards to protect public health.
The confiscated products from the Community Information Centers and the market were properly disposed of at Akwadum dumping site.
Mrs. Owusu-Kuffour cautioned the public to go through the appropriate procedures to ensure their products were approved and registered before bringing them onto the market.
GNA
