Ho, Dec. 6, GNA - Mrs Narkie Teye-Larbie, the Volta and Eastern Zonal Officer of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB), has called on the public to be critical of the quality of food and food items they buy and the hygiene surrounding where these are sold.

This is because the quality of one's health is largely determined by the quality of food consumed.

Mrs Teye-Larbie said this when she briefed the Volta Regional Co-coordinating Council on the board's activities at the Council's meeting on Tuesday.

"We buy 'wakye' from just anywhere and also prefer broken and rotten tomatoes because they are cheaper".

Mrs Teye-Larbie said the cost in poor health was much bigger than the money that was saved from buying those rotten food items. "If the public come to appreciate the effects of food quality on their health many of the 'Agbogbloshie' markets will vanish for lack of patronage".

Mrs Teye-Larbie appealed to Metropolitan, Municipal and District assemblies to focus on food vending and educate the public to take the issue of food quality and hygiene seriously. She said the Board would soon embark on a programme to ascertain the quality of food provided to pupils under the school feeding programme as well as the environment and personal hygiene of those preparing such meals.

Mrs Teye-Larbie said the board was also about to conduct audit into the quality of food served by hospitality institutions. Mr Kofi Dzamesi, Volta Regional Minister, later presented six ambulances each costing 450 million cedis to some hospitals in the region.

The hospitals are Peki Hospital, Margaret Marquart Hospital at Kpando, Adidome Hospital, Worawora Hospital, Dambai Health Post and Akatsi Hospital.