Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) Ghana has issued a safety alert for consumers of tilapia and smoked fish.
“If you are a fond of tilapia but you are not so sure of the source, the best thing to do is avoid buying it,” the Public Relations Officer for the FDA, James Lartey stated Monday.
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Speaking on the Super Morning Show on Joy Fm, Mr Lartey said that the “advice” was to ensure the safety of the Ghanaian populace as the team is not sure of the presence of the fish in the market.
This alert comes after about 18,000 tonnes of tilapia was destroyed at a fish farm in Asutsuare in the Greater Accra Region.
President of the Association, Jennifer Sodji said part of the fish farm, Fujian Farm — a Chinese owned company — at Asutsuare, has since been shut down pending further investigations.
Mr Lartey said, “though it has not been confirmed yet, it is possible that the fishes have gone into the market because of the social media circulation.”
He said investigations are being carried out to determine the cause of death of the fishes and cautioned Ghanaians to be careful in the consumption of tilapia.
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“The investigations will lead the team to a certain path for a decision to be taken to protect the citizens, however, it is difficult to tell the difference between the affected fish and the non-affected fish so people should be careful,” he said.
The PRO added that the FDA is not banning the consumption of tilapia or smoked fish but if consumers trust the source of the fish, they can go ahead and buy.
“Officers from FDA that oversaw the process confirmed that the fishes have been buried,” he told Daniel Dadzie host of the Show.
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“The investigation team has picked samples of the fish and water to test and [to] find the cause of death of the fishes,” he stated.
He urged the public to wait for the results of investigations and action to be taken by the authorities involved.