Tighten food labelling rules to safeguard public health, Prof. Amuna advises

Professor Paul Amuna, a public health and nutrition expert at the University of Health and Allied Sciences, has voiced worries over the inadequate labelling on most food consumables available on the market, underlining that this seriously compromises the health of the country. 

To safeguard public health all around the nation, he has thus demanded stricter rules on better food labeling. He clarified that although most of the foods on the market, especially locally produced ones, lacked labels at all or were even incorrectly labelled, labeling was not a cosmetic attribute but rather essential for consumer education and informed decision-making.

Also see: NPP MPs Fight EOCO Over Arrest of Chairman Wontumi

Furthermore, he pointed out that some of those imported had labelling in languages other than English, which makes reading and deciphering what has been etched on them challenging. Speaking with The Ghanaian Times in an interview last Tuesday, Prof. Amuna said, "We need a policy... we need regulation and some means of enforcement to ensure that foods or food products that get onto the market are properly labelled, and that consumers can make a choice depending on how they view the warning labels that are on the product."

Given the present trends and mounting burden of non-communicative diseases in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including Ghana, this, he said, had become essential.

 He clarified that although the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) had rules in place for back-of-pack product labelling to guarantee goods satisfy global standards, their implementation was not uniform.
 "While it is required to highlight some ingredients in the product, many food products in the country particularly lacked clear and accurate front-of-pack nutrition labels, emphasizing the need for more effective enforcement," he said.
 He also said, "At the moment in Ghana, we do not have an operational policy focusing on the front-of-pack labeling of foods, and in particular warning labels."
 Professor Amuna underlined the need for a front-of-pack labelling policy, which would offer unambiguous warnings regarding harmful substances or so-called nutrients of concern.

 Such a policy, he said, would not only assist consumers in making wise decisions about their diet and health but also help lower the prevalence of non-communicative diseases (NCDs), including some cancers, heart disease, and diabetes.

 This kind of legislation would also benefit the food sector since manufacturers would be encouraged to reformulate their goods to make them healthier.

 Working through the Food and Drug Authority and with a team of technical experts under the direction of Professor Amos Laar at the School of Public Health, University of Ghana, he revealed that the Ministry of Health had been working toward developing this policy in part in efforts to combat non-communicative diseases in the nation.

 He thus appealed to the government and all pertinent stakeholders to promote the cause of making the initiative a policy to improve the quality of the products that come to the market, as this serves our common interests in combating non-communicative diseases.

 Working together, he said the county could create sensible food labelling rules with laws supporting public health and a better environment. Such a policy would act as a standard for West African neighbors.

 He also cautioned consumers to read labels and verify that the item they were purchasing was not past due, so alerting them against the expiry date of goods.