More than 10 traders at the Malam Atta and Dome markets, both in Accra, have been arrested for allegedly adulterating palm oil for sale with a chemical substance commonly called Sudan IV dye.
The drums of palm oil have been seized to assist with investigations. The dye is said to give the palm oil a deeper red colour for marketing purposes.
The arrests followed surveillance by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service (GHS), the police and other state agencies nationwide ahead of Christmas.
The Head of Communications and Public Education of the FDA, Mrs Rhoda Ewurabena Appiah, told the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday that the FDA was determined to crack down on persons engaged in such activity because it amounted to food fraud.
“The FDA is on high alert and what is happening with the palm oil now is an emerging story but we will make sure we bust all the barons in this trade,” Mrs Appiah stressed.
She said the investigations would also help to establish how the suspects came by the dye, and that if the traders were found culpable, they could be slapped with administrative charges on their respective operations or be processed for court.
Mrs Appiah, however, urged consumers to be vigilant and look out for unwholesome products, including food items, at the various markets.