The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) confiscated contaminated fish during a joint enforcement operation at the Tema Newtown fishing enclave as part of efforts to intensify consumer protection and improve food safety standards.
The operation, conducted on Tuesday, July 28, involved the FDA, the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA), the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Armed Forces. It focused on fish handling and processing activities considered unhygienic and potentially harmful to public health.
Officials seized contaminated fish from handlers during the exercise to prevent the products from entering the food supply chain. The confiscated fish is expected to be safely disposed of in accordance with food safety procedures.
Beyond the enforcement action, the authorities used the exercise to educate fish processors and traders on proper hygiene and safe handling practices.
The education campaign encouraged fish handlers to improve the way they handle, dry and process fish to minimise the risk of contamination and ensure that products reaching consumers are safe for consumption.
The FDA said the exercise forms part of its broader efforts to strengthen food safety enforcement and protect public health across the country.
Meanwhile, the Tema Metropolitan Assembly has commenced a demolition and clean-up exercise within the fishing enclave to address sanitation challenges in the area.
The exercise is focused on removing accumulated refuse along the shoreline, with the assembly saying the intervention is intended to improve sanitation and create a healthier environment for fish processing activities.
The TMA has also assured the FDA that it will construct new hygienic platforms for fish processors. The facilities are expected to provide safer and more sanitary spaces for activities such as fish drying and smoking.
The interventions at Tema Newtown highlight the growing focus on the link between sanitation, food handling practices and public health, particularly in communities where large quantities of fish are processed for consumption.
The FDA reaffirmed its commitment to working with local authorities, security agencies and other stakeholders to ensure that food products available to the public are safe, wholesome and of good quality.
The authority said continued collaboration with stakeholders would be essential to improving hygiene standards and preventing unsafe food products from reaching consumers.
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