The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has shut down 59 food manufacturing and cold storage facilities in the Greater Accra Region after uncovering serious food safety, hygiene and licensing violations during a nationwide enforcement exercise.
The closures, carried out over the past two weeks, affected 44 food manufacturing establishments and more than 15 cold stores across the Ga East and Ga West municipalities.
The latest enforcement action included the closure of two unlicensed sachet water production facilities and a cold store, where inspectors found untreated, algae-contaminated water being used for sachet water production and food products stored under poor hygienic conditions.
The inspection team also discovered that most of the sachet water producers lacked ultraviolet (UV) sterilisation systems, resulting in untreated water being packaged for public consumption.
Although the operators cooperated with the inspection, FDA officials described conditions at the facilities as unacceptable and directed them to report to the Authority for further investigations.
The Authority was, however, unable to shut down another targeted facility because its operators had vacated the premises before inspectors arrived, raising suspicions that they may have been tipped off.
The enforcement exercise covered Kwabenya, Ashongman Estate and Amansaman.
Addressing journalists after the operation, Mrs Rhoda Appiah, Head of Communications at the FDA, said the inspections formed part of the Authority’s routine surveillance activities to safeguard public health and ensure compliance with food safety regulations.
She said under Section 130 of the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851), all food production facilities must be registered or licensed before commencing operations.
Mrs Appiah said registration fees were affordable, with most small-scale operators paying less than GH¢300, making compliance far cheaper than the penalties for non-compliance.
She warned that businesses operating without valid licences risked temporary closure, confiscation of products, administrative fines of up to GH¢30,000 and possible prosecution.
Mrs Appiah also cautioned operators against using expired FDA registration numbers, stressing that facility licences must be renewed annually and could be revoked for regulatory breaches.
She urged consumers to buy only FDA-approved products from licensed manufacturers and to verify that packaged food items carried valid FDA registration numbers before purchase.
Mrs Appiah encouraged manufacturers to use the FDA’s digital application platform to register and renew their licences online.
“We are not anti-business. We want businesses to thrive, but we cannot sacrifice the health and safety of Ghanaians for financial expediency,” she said.
