FDB cautions importers

THE Food and Drugs Board (FDB) has cautioned importers against importing energy and soft drinks which have short lifespans to avoid flooding the market with expired products.
The Communications Director of the board, Mr James Yarnie Lartey, told the Daily Graphic that although it was not an offence to sell those products, it was improper for importers to import more than what they could sell.
“It is only an offence when the products have expired and the date has been changed, but apart from that it is a matter of choice because with even a day or two left, the product cannot be said to have expired,” he emphasised.
He, however, urged traders not to expose those products to sunlight because of the effect of heat on consumable products such as energy and soft drinks.
Mr Lartey said it was not advisable to buy products, especially canned ones, that were bloated, dented or rusted because the effects could lead to complications.
He advised the general public to also make sure that they checked the expiry dates on products before buying them.
A fact-finding examination by this reporter in Accra revealed that some energy and soft drinks sold were nearly expired and to clear them from the market they were being sold at very ridiculous prices.
The expiry dates on some of those drinks indicated that some were left with one to two months before they expired.
To clear before the exact dates are due, some drinks that were sold at GH¢2.50 are now sold for GH¢1.50.
Two traders, who gave their names as Mary and Comfort, blamed the importers and wholesalers for that situation, noting that “they intentionally hoard the products and sell them at exorbitant prices but when they realise that the expiry dates are getting closer and we cannot buy them then they reduce them for us so they can import more”.
They appealed to the importers to reduce their prices to enable retailers to sell the drinks before they neared their expiry dates.