ghana (2)

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This article outlines some of the food fraud incidents in Ghana in particular, and West Africa. These include the addition of Sudan IV to crude palm oil (a popular cooking oil in W. Africa), meat and fish treated with formaldehyde to falsify its freshness, rice chaff packaged as high-grade rice, and milk powder with no trace of milk in it. It appears that fraud is on the increase in W Afica.

To combat this an Africa Centre for Food Fraud and Safety (AfriFoodinTegrity) has been established by University of Cape Coast, Ghana and collaborates with IGFS-QUB (Queens University Belfast). Rapid, onsite and non‑destructive fingerprinting tests have been developed for palm oil quality and rice. 

Research is being conducted into new methods to assess palm oil safety and quality, to authenticate the origin of cocoa beans using handheld near infrared (NIR) spectrometers, to determine egg freshness using spectral fingerprinting, and to classify cocoa bean quality using portable NIR spectroscopy.

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FDA bans Sudan dye in palm oil products 

Ghana Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has sent a strong warning to Palm Oil Producers across the country to desist from using the Sudan dye to mix the red oil before sending them to the market.

According to the FDA, its outfit has a set of strict regulatory sanctions that will be applied to all persons who are caught in this act.

The FDA warned that “Sudan 4 dye is not approved for use in food products, Sudan dyes are classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as Group 3 carcinogens and are banned as food additives worldwide (IARC, 1987)”.

Chief Executive of FDA, Delese Mimi Darko, announced this when she speaking at the launching of the Artisanal Palm Oil Millers and Outgrowers Association app in Accra, a digital technology device aimed at protecting the industry, and also to ensure authentic and healthy palm oil exportation for the global market.

The association has developed an app to enable consumers to track the source of palm oil and its producers before purchase and consumption to curb the menace of a chemical called Sudan IV, which is sometimes added to palm oil.

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