By Omotayo Edubi
President of Artisanal Palm Oil Millers and Out-growers Association, Paul Amaning says the group will offer full support of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to clamp down and arrest some oil palm producers in Ghana who use Sudan IV in their oil palm production.
He said this during a press briefing on Thursday while acknowledging the good initiative that Artisanal Palm Oil Millers and Out-growers Association have put in place to help curb the menace of SUDAN IV in Ghana.
He said the FDA would continue to work with the association to collect samples of the palm oil and test every year to sanction those who add unwholesome chemicals to their palm oil.
According to him, middlemen in the value chain are the cause of contaminated palm oil in palm production.
“I want the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to trace and arrest people who are consistently involved in producing Sudan IV,” Paul Amaning said at the press briefing.
He added, “We would cooperate with FDA and test all palm oil in the market to bring down all those who are using harmful chemicals for production, we are pleading with the producers, wholesalers, retailers, consumers, and the public to refrain from the use of Sudan IV in palm oil for the benefit of our health.”
Paul Amaning noted that Artisanal Palm Oil Millers and Outgrowers Association are already in the process to educate palm oil producers on the effects of chemical additives on human health to help curb the menace of SUDAN IV.
He urged the general public not to panic but patronize the palm oil because FDA and Artisanal Palm Oil Millers and Outgrowers Association are working to clamp down perpetrators in the sector.
He called on the general public to assist in combating this act by identifying producers who use SUDAN IV for production in their communities.
Ministry of Food and Agriculture research shows that 4.5 litre of Palm oil at Agbogbloshie was sold at Ghc18 while the same litre was at Ghc30 at Akyem Asuom, a wholesale point in the Eastern Region.
