The Food and Drugs Authority is worried about how many Ghanaians store their food in cold storage facilities. The FDA explained that if the storage of fresh meats and fish, along with processed meat and fish products are not done properly, there could be the transfer of micro organisms from one product to the other, which could lead to food poisoning.
Speaking on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show today, June 15, 2022, Abel Ndega, a Regulatory Officer with the Authority in the Upper East Region encouraged the compartmentalization of meat and fish and processed food products from the two stated ingredients in cold storage facilities [freezers and refrigerators].
“You will realize that when you open people’s freezers, you have all kinds of stuff mixed up. We are supposed to have a strict stocking regime in our freezers. We should not put processed meats and fresh meat together because their safety profiles are completely different.”
“Fresh meat often has the tendency of having a higher microbial load than processed meats. Once they come into contact, there is a transfer of micro-organisms. If you are not careful, you could end up suffering food poisoning.”
He said to prevent the transfer of micro-organisms, fresh meats, fresh fish, processed meats and processed fish should be packaged properly and individually, and stored in a way that reduces the interaction between the stated products in the freezer.
“Mixing raw foods with processed foods is a no-no. Even with the raw food category, for example, meat, you do not put meat together with chicken. You should be able to put compartments within your freezer and then get the meat arranged in that order so that there is minimal risk of cross-contamination.”
Mr. Ndego added that is it essential that ‘food is held hot’. This means that meals that are not eaten cold should be heated up to a certain specific temperature before being eaten while foods that should be kept cold but be maintained at a cold temperature too.
Earlier, the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has called on the public, particularly young people, to desist from taking shisha as it is a threat to the health of young people in the country.
Angela Mawutor Adzor, Regulatory Officer at the Upper East Regional Office of the Food and Drugs Authority speaking today, June 15, 2022, on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show mentioned that a lot of people are ignorant of the fact that the tobacco industry is diverting people’s minds from cigarettes to shisha.
“Research has shown that when you sit down to do an hour-long of shisha, it’s equal to smoking 100 to 200 sticks of cigarettes,” she said.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
