The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Volta Region, has seized a large quantity of unregistered diapers at the Ho Market to protect public health, particularly children.
The operation, conducted with law enforcement agencies, forms part of ongoing efforts to clamp down on unregistered and potentially harmful products in markets across the Volta and Oti Regions and the country, to ensure only safe and quality goods are sold.
Mr Gordon Akurugu, Volta Regional Head of the FDA, told the Ghana News Agency that the diapers lacked proper registration and labelling, raising safety and quality concerns. He described their sale as a serious public health threat that would not be tolerated.
He said the products, commonly known as “fosse diapers,” could not be guaranteed safe. They have been detained pending investigations with the police to trace their source.
Mr Akurugu noted that, as a border region, Volta could receive smuggled goods from neighbouring countries.
“This is not just a one-day exercise. It’s an exercise that has to continue,” he said, adding that the products could be store rejects or donated items resold without a known origin.
He urged mothers and the public to buy only registered diapers with visible labels and FDA numbers, stressing that “the life of a child is important to Ghana.”
Citing the Public Health Act 851, he explained that all imported products must be registered and regulated by the FDA to ensure safety. Unregistered products on the market are illegal, and offenders would face the full rigours of the law.
Some affected traders expressed frustration, saying the approach used by officials was not the best. Ms Bintu Yakubu said officers posed as buyers before seizing products, admitting she could not differentiate between registered and unregistered diapers.
Ms Linda Ofosuhene questioned why unregistered goods were allowed into the country if they were illegal, while another trader, Gloria, said the unlabeled diapers were more popular with customers, and the exercise would cause her losses.
Source: GNA
