Takoradi, Sept. 5, - Dr Francis
Adarkwa, the Executive Director of the Vision World Network (VWN)an agro-based
NGO says research by the Network has revealed that middlemen continue to account for the adulteration of
palm oil across the country.
He said the perpetrators of the
act carry out the disgusting practice on their way to the market under the pretence
of deepening the colour to make it more attractive to consumers.
Dr Adarkwa told the Ghana News
Agency in Takoradi that a recent study at Akyim Offoase, Oda and other
surrounding communities in the Eastern region showed that the practice was
dwindling the sale and patronage of the oil at the detriment of women processors
and farmers.
The Executive Director was
worried that not much had been done by the Food and Drug Authority in
protecting the public health by ensuring food safety and the safety of the
nation's food supply.
“These women processors cannot
continue to suffer at the hand of these middlemen… it is against this backdrop
that Vision World Network in collaboration with processors in the Eastern
region under the auspices of BUSAC Fund is working to expose the perpetrators,
assure consumers of quality palm oil from the farm gate, increase demand for
palm oil and restore market for their products”, he added.
He said palm oil business was a
lucrative one undertaken by women and men who buy them in large quantities and
export them to neighbouring countries or sold to Unilever and other companies
who depend on palm oil as raw material.
The sector employs over 300,000
people of whom 80% are women, who sometimes process the Fresh Fruit Bunch (FFB)
and sell them to middlemen and women or retail themselves.
Between the processing and the
final consumer, middlemen played significant role either retailing or selling
in commercial quantities to final consumers.
The consumption of palm oil has
been widely accepted with demand figures at 370,000 metric tonnes and
corresponding production of 135,000 metric tonnes yearly, showing a deficit of
about 235,000 metric tonnes, he added.
Dr Adarkwa said the above figures
justified the lucrative nature of the business and the extent to which the
product was widely consumed in the country.
Recently, producers of palm oil
reported low patronage as a result of the adulteration of the palm oil with
Sudan IV dye, dangerous cancer-causing chemical, which is reported to have been
found in some samples of palm oil collected from identified markets in the
areas under study.
According to him, the government
and law enforcement agencies must do more to protect the interests and
businesses of these women processors in order to ensure that they stay in
business.
GNA
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