Thinknewsonline.com can confirm that the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has locked the meat section of Shoprite, a local grocery store and supermarket at Accra Mall for selling imported frozen chicken as locally produced ones.
According to FDA, it took such after it confirmed from its investigation that the company was indeed defrauding its customers.
In an interview monitored by Thinknewsonline.com, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of FDA, Akua Amartey said “Apart from it being deception, it also has some health implications, because we all know that you don’t actually thaw a frozen product and then put it back into the freezer for it to freeze,”
Madam Amartey also hinted that aside deceiving the public and selling such products to them, the Accra Mall branch of Shoprite has been toying with the health of its customers.
She also said “And most people who patronize these products think they’ve bought fresh chicken, some of them will definitely also freeze and you know what happens, when products are thawed at certain temperatures, micro-organisms start brewing in them and they produce toxins.”
The Deputy CEO said “So someone will say but you boiled the chicken, yes you boiled it, the micro-organisms will die but the toxins they’ve already produced are still in the meat and that is where when you consume food prepared from such means, you have some form of health challenges,” she averred.
It is emerging that the FDA slapped the local grocery shop with a fine for deceiving ts customers.
Thinknewsonline.com has also gathered that the meat section of the local grocery store has been locked until further notice.
"They must decide to sell frozen chicken as frozen chicken. If they want to sell fresh chicken then they should let us know which farms they are getting the fresh chicken from, what documentation comes in, what inspections they are producing, when they receive consignments of fresh chicken; which freezers they will put them in. How they are going to dispose of [the chicken] after the shelf life so that they do not end up freezing them and selling them as fresh chicken. So there are so many things we need to work hand in hand with them on including training their staff.”
The Deputy CEO has hinted that it will be storming the other branches of Shoprite among other companies and clamp down on such deviant behaviours.
Aside locking the Shoprite at the Accra Mall, it is emerging that the freezers at the Junction Mall branch has also been locked up.
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Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith