The Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) Limited, producers of GoldenTree Cocoa Chocolate and confectionery products, has opened a sales outlet at Kasoa to facilitate access to its products in the locality.

The opening of the outlet coincided with the celebration of this year's World Heart Day on the theme: "Use Heart to Beat Cardiovascular Diseases."

Nana Agyenim Boateng I, the Managing Director of CPC, said the sales outlet would ensure that traders and consumers got their supplies easily without having to travel to Accra or Tema for the products.

He announced the CPC's intention to adopt the World Heart Day, celebrated on September 29 every year, and localise it as the "Royals Heart Day."

"As a company, we have chosen our flagship and popular GOLDENTREE products, namely Dark Chocolate with 70 percent, 80 percent and 90 percent Cocoa Solids and the Royals Natural Cocoa Powder as the products of focus for this year's World Heart Day celebration," he said.

The Managing Director said as producers of the world's premium and high quality GoldenTree Cocoa and Chocolate Confectionery products, CPC carried a great responsibility of getting involved in the prevention and control of Cardiovascular Diseases.

He said the products promoted health and well-being as they were produced from 100 percent premium Ghana Cocoa without any Cocoa butter substitutes.

Nana Agyenim Boateng said based on that their products were authentic and provided consumers with unadulterated access to all the health benefits of cocoa.

He said medical experts were convinced that about 80 percent of premature deaths from heart diseases and stroke could be prevented by controlling risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity.

"It is also on record that Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), that is diseases of the heart and stroke, claims about 17.9 million lives each year".

He emphasised the need for the Day to be used to galvanise people to take action to prevent and control the disease.

"World Heart Day, therefore, provides an opportunity for individuals, families, communities and Governments around the world to unite in the fight against CVD," he said, and that "Fighting CVD is everybody's business".

The Managing Director also called on individuals, groups, municipal assemblies and health workers to join the noble effort by getting involved in educational and other activities that promoted better heart health.

That, he said, include the sharing of information on health benefits of cocoa with the view to ensuring its widespread consumption among both the young and the old.

Dr Florence Akomea of the National Cardiovascular Disease Centre and Dr Edward Amporful, Chief Pharmacist, Cocoa Clinic, took turns to educate the public on general heart health and urged them to include cocoa products in their diets to improve their health.