The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has confiscated some expired food items from the Zuarungu Senior High School in the Upper East region.
This follows an unannounced visit to the school and subsequent inspection of the facility’s storerooms.
Among the confiscated items were multiple brands of products, including mackerel, wheat flour, evaporated filled milk, tomato paste, and tomato sauce.
Speaking to Citi News, Sebastian Mawuli Hotor, the FDA’s Upper East Regional Director, stressed on the importance of ensuring that food supplies in educational facilities meet FDA safety standards.
He warned that, non-compliance would lead to penalties.
“We went to Zuarungu SHS for one of the school kitchen inspections that we do. In one of their storerooms, we found about five different brands of products which were bad and then I think one out of them was unregistered as well. We got some from neighboring schools as well as from Buffer stock.
“The products were the Free SHS mackerel, the Royal Gold hard wheat flour, Pavani evaporated filled milk, Paka tomato paste, and queen [pilchards] in tomato sauce.”
“These were the products that we found that were expired. These were products that were supplied to the school for feeding the children. As part of our mandate, we confiscated them and took them for safe disposal.”
Mr. Hotor also stated that, such inspections will be repeated periodically to enforce food safety guidelines across all food establishments, including school kitchens.
.”.. this is something we will repeat from time to time just to ensure that food safety guidelines are adhered to in all food establishments including food kitchens,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the school is yet to respond to the issue.
