Accra, Jan. 18, – Mr James
Lartey, the Head of Communications of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) on
Thursday said contaminated powdered baby milk products of Lactalis, a French
dairy group, is not on the Ghanaian market.
The products, which include;The
Picot, Milumel, Celia, and Taranis have caused Salmonella outbreak in France,
Spain and Greece with more than 37 babies reportedly affected in those
countries.
He said More than 12 million
boxes of the powdered baby milk had already been recalled in 83 countries
following the outbreak.
Mr Lartey told the Ghana News
Agency (GNA) in an interview that checks by the FDA have revealed that the
products were not on the Ghanaian market. “When the information came, we
checked our database and it was not a product registered in Ghana.
He added: “Checks from the FDA
Port office indicates that such products are not on the Ghanaian market,
however, due to the porous nature of our borders, the authority is not ruling
out the possibility of some people leaking the product into the market.”
He said the FDA has, therefore,
increased surveillance at the borders especially the Togo and Cote d’Ivoire to
ensure that such products do not enter the Ghanaian market.
“We have also embarked on a Post
Market Surveillance across the regions and the products are not on the market,
but the FDA is still undertaking the surveillance to ensure public safety. If
we should find anything, then we shall make it public,” he said.
Mr Lartey appealed to the public
that despite FDA's surveillance, “if any person should come across the said
products anywhere on the Ghanaian market, they should alert the FDA.
Lawsuits have been filed in other
jurisdictions by parents who claimed their children became unwell after
drinking the formula. Some people have also raided the company’s premises
including a factory in Craon, North-Western France.
The Lactalis group, which is one
of the world's largest producers of dairy products, has said it believed the
contamination was caused by renovation work at its Craon factory.
Salmonella can cause diarrhoea,
stomach cramps, vomiting and severe dehydration. It can be life threatening,
especially in young children.
The illness, caused by intestinal
bacteria from farm animals, is dangerous for the very young and elderly because
of the risk of dehydration.
GNA
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