The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has assured the general public of its core responsibility of protecting consumers as mandated by the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851).
A statement issued by the FDA on Monday stated that the authority ensures this through the licensing of the manufacturing premises and the registration of products.
Responding to a statement in the media about the poor quality and safety of source of water used for sachet water production in Ghana, the authority stated that the premises of the manufacturing facilities are regularly inspected using the Authority’s Guidelines, FDA/FDI/GL-FPF/2020/02.
“The inspection covers the starting material (water) and packaging materials to ensure that they meet their respective Ghana Standards, and the finished products to meet the requirement of GS175-1:2002 (for drinking water) and GS220:2014 (for mineral water). All inspections are done in accordance with the current Codes of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) where end products are released in accordance with the above-stated specifications,” It stated.
According to the FDA, the production process includes filtration/reverse osmosis which removes extraneous material and UV sterilization which destroys harmful pathogens which might be present. As part of the registration process by the FDA, the laboratory conducts tests to establish the presence or otherwise of microorganisms which is a critical parameter for drinking water safety.
These include tests for E. coli, total coliforms, Aerobic Plate Count, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus faecalis, and Clostridium perfringens.
The FDA assured the public that it conducts periodic market surveillance and product quality analyses of products in circulation on the market, adding that trend analysis from its laboratory has not shown the observation described in the media.
The authority advised the public to patronize only registered sachet and bottled water manufactured in Ghana that bear the FDA product registration numbers and urged consumers to report any unregistered sachet and bottled water at the nearest FDA office.
Grace Acheampong, ISD
