Accra: The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that salt produced for human consumption is adequately iodised and meets the required safety standards. Mr Benjamin Osei Tutu, the Head of Food-borne Diseases at the FDA, has announced an intensified monitoring effort to ensure consumers receive properly iodised products, thereby protecting them from iodine deficiency disorders.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr Osei Tutu made these statements at the launch of a salt fortification and iodisation programme in Ada Songor. The event brought together the FDA, the Ada Songor Lagoon Association (ASLA), Environmental Health Officers of the Ada West District Assembly, the Ghana Police Service, and the Judicial Service. He emphasized the importance of iodine availability for salt producers, which presents an opportunity to strengthen compliance with the country's salt iodisation requirements.
Mr Osei Tutu also cautioned salt producers and transporters against using the same vehicles for conveying industrial and edible salt, highlighting the risk of cross-contamination and the potential misuse of industrial salt for human consumption. He urged stakeholders in the salt value chain to adhere to FDA requirements to ensure that only safe and properly iodised salt reaches consumers.
Mr Abraham Ahuma Tetteh, the Public Relations Officer of the Ada Songor Lagoon Association (ASLA), announced that the association had secured enough iodine to support the iodisation of salt produced at Ada Songor. ASLA plans to extend the supply of iodine to selected salt artisans in the Volta Region, aiming to broaden the production of adequately iodised salt beyond Ada. He noted that salt artisans had received training on the appropriate quantity of iodine required for different volumes of salt, which would help them apply the correct dosage during the iodisation process.
Mr Tetteh further mentioned that ASLA is developing measures to regulate salt prices due to concerns over price increases. These measures are intended to maintain stability in the salt market while ensuring that consumers and other actors in the value chain are not adversely affected by rising prices.
Salt iodisation has been practiced in Ghana since 1994 in response to concerns over iodine deficiency disorders, with salt identified as an effective and affordable means of delivering iodine to the population. The renewed programme at Ada Songor aims to strengthen compliance among producers and ensure that salt intended for human consumption contains the required level of iodine.