Accra, Dec. 16, GNA - The management of Food and Drugs Board (FDB) on Thursday said a consignment of 544 cartons of expired frozen chicken gizzard with the brand name Doux Frozen Chicken Gizzard has been seized from Servistar Minwax Limited, an importer of frozen food products at Tema.

A statement issued in Accra by the Board said on December 1, a joint exercise involving the FDB, National Security and Ghana Police Service led to the seizure of the consignment, which had expired since September 2010.. It said the seized consignment, which was pending destruction had a primary packaging consisting of a polythene bag (plain on one side with red, white and blue stripes on the other side).

The batch number is MN285A09, production date October, 2009, expiry date September, 2010 and country of origin as Brazil. The statement said the management of Servistar Minwax was assisting the security agencies and the FDB in their investigations. It advised grocery outlets, restaurant operators and the public agai= nst patronising the product while cold store operators, who had any stock of the product, were cautioned against offering them for sale and report to the FDB. "Dealers in products that are regulated by FDB are obliged to inform the FDB about all expired products for destruction under its supervision in order to ensure public health and safety," it said.

"The Food and Drugs Board once again wishes to remind the public that=

the sale of unwholesome food products violates provisions of the Food and=

Drugs Law, 1992, (PNDCL 305B) and the use of such products also pose a serious public health risk, including food poisoning that may lead to death," the statement said. It assured the public of its readiness to enforce the mandate of ensuring public health and safety.