Regarding its obligation to safeguard consumers as required by the Public Health Act of 2012 (Act 851), the Authority stated that it ensures the safety of packaged water (bottled and sachet) through the licensing of the manufacturing facilities and the registration of these goods.
According to a statement released by the FDA on Monday, August 8, the Authority's Guidelines, FDA/FDI/GL-FPF/2020/02, are used to frequently check the manufacturing facilities' premises.
The finished products must meet the requirements of GS175-1:2002 (for drinking water) and GS220:2014, and the inspection covers the starting material (water) and packaging materials to make sure they comply with their relevant Ghana Standards (for mineral water). The statement read, "All inspections are conducted in line with the most recent Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) codes, and finished goods are distributed in conformity with the aforementioned requirements.
The production process also includes UV sterilization, which kills any potentially harmful bacteria present, and filtering/reverse osmosis, which removes unnecessary material.
The laboratory performs tests to determine the presence or absence of microorganisms, which is a crucial factor in the safety of drinking water, as part of the registration procedure by the FDA.
These consist of tests for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus faecalis, Aerobic Plate Count, E. coli, total coliforms, and Clostridium perfringens. Finally, the Authority wants to reassure the public that it regularly monitors the market and evaluates the quality of the products being sold. The observation cited in the media has not been supported by trend analysis conducted by the FDA laboratory.
"The public is strongly advised to only purchase registered Ghanaian bottled and sachet water that is marked with an FDA product registration number. Please notify the closest FDA office of any unregistered bottled and sachet water, the message advised.
This follows the recall of Verna mineral water by the manufacturers due to a manufacturing error.
The batch numbers for the recalled goods are TW/5 20:14 B, TW/5 20:15 B, TW/5 20:16 B, TW/ 5 20:17 B, and TW/ 5 20:22 B.
Twellium Industrial Business Limited, the company that made the products, said in a statement that it was voluntarily recalling the goods with specific batch numbers "to guarantee our consumers have the experience they deserve."
Verna Mineral Water's management is worried about the quality and safety of its goods and wants to use this as an opportunity to inform the public about safe practices for handling and preserving water for consumption.
"We want to emphasize that Verna Mineral water is produced under the most stringent sanitary conditions under the supervision of the Food and Drugs Authority and Ghana Standard Authority, which ensures that the produced water is kept whole and fresh until consumption and is also certified by ISO and HACCP," it continued.
