As part of efforts to promote food safety in the country, the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has introduced a new guideline for shelf life of processed food products.

The guideline which is to ensure that expired goods were not on shelves for the consuming public is expected to take effect on February 11, 2020.

The occasion was attended by stakeholders from the food industry and manufacturers.

The Chief Executive Officer of the FDA, Mrs Delese Mimi Darko, in her remarks said the emerging trend in the food sector where food wastage had become prominent due to the quantities of food destroyed every year because of issues related to shelf lives.

She said the new guideline, which set out to describe the regulatory requirements of the food industry. seeks to inform and guide routine activities in order to reduce food wastage.

Mrs Darko stressed the need to sensitise the stakeholders on the guidelines to ensure that the consuming public were protected.

She assured the public of the FDA’s continuous determination in protecting consumers and called on the public to support them in achieving their goals.

The Head of Legal Department of FDA, Mrs Cynthia Dapaah-Ntow, in her presentation on the new guideline said all locally-manufactured food items must possess, in the case of food, label with best before date minimium of 60 per cent of shelf life.

“The shelf life of a food product shall be determined on the basis of the date of manufacture and the date of expiry as declared by manufacturer of the product on the label attached,” she added.

Mrs Dapaah-Ntow urged stakeholders in the food industry to abide by the new guideline to ensure the consuming public were protected.  

She said food shall be deemed an unfit for sale after lapse of the best before or expiry dates.

Mr Dapaah-Ntow said a person shall not display, offer for sale, donate, repackage, re-label or reuse food after expiration of the best before. 

She warned that offenders who did not comply with such guideline would be reliable to conviction for four years or more, fined or both.