Accra, Oct. 28, GNA - The Food and Drugs Board (FDB) on Thursday destroyed 1,000 bags of unwholesome rice at the Saba landfill site at Weija in Accra, and cautioned the public to be careful about what they consume.

Another consignment of 1,000 bags would also be destroyed soon, Mr James Lartey, Head of Public Affairs at FDB told the Ghana News Agency in Accra. According to Mr Lartey, the rice was seized and destroyed because it contained stones, animal droppings and wood chippings which he said were not healthy for human consumption. The unwholesome rice, he said, was seized upon a tip off that some people were re-bagging the rice at Gicel Estates at Weija in Accra for re-sale.

He said with the help of some BNI officials the people were caught red handed but upon interrogation, they said they were re-bagging the rice for animal consumption. Mr Lartey, however, said feeding animals with unwholesome food was equally not healthy in that it would eventually be in the food chain and could be harmful when consumed by human beings. Two people have been arrested to assist the police in investigations.

He advised the public to ensure that they purchased food and medicines from approved and identified places so that it would be easy to trace if a problem ensued.

Section 18 of the Food and Drugs Law states that 'No person shall manufacture, prepare, sell, supply, export or import into Ghana any drug, cosmetic, medical device or household chemical, unless the product has been registered with the Food and Drugs Board." He assured the public of the FDB's readiness to protect public health and safety at all times and appealed to the public to desist from buying drugs and products which did not have English labelling. The FDB urged the public to report persons suspected to be in any practice that could endanger public health and safety through any of the following contact numbers; 0244337235, 0262689296 or 0244385086.