FDA Seizes Contaminated Fish After Buzstopboys Raises Concerns Over Tema New Town Processing Site

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), in collaboration with the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA), the Ghana Police Service, and the Ghana Armed Forces, has carried out a joint enforcement operation at the Tema Newtown fishing enclave following concerns over unsafe fish handling practices highlighted by sanitation advocacy group BuzStopBoys.

The operation comes days after BuzStopBoys released a video showing fish being dried directly on the ground, exposed to sand, refuse, open defecation, and other contaminants while people moved through the processing area.

The footage, which circulated widely on social media, sparked public concern over hygiene standards at the site and prompted the group to call on the FDA to investigate.

According to the FDA, contaminated fish were confiscated from fish handlers during the enforcement exercise and removed for safe disposal to prevent them from entering the food value chain.

The authority said fish handlers were also educated on the importance of maintaining good hygiene and adopting safe fish handling and processing practices.

The Tema Metropolitan Assembly has also begun a demolition exercise to clear accumulated refuse along the shoreline as part of efforts to improve sanitation in the area.

The Assembly further assured the FDA that hygienic platforms would be constructed to provide fish processors with safer and more sanitary facilities for drying and smoking fish.

The FDA said it remains committed to working with key stakeholders to ensure that food made available to the public is safe, wholesome, and of good quality.

It added that the combined approach of enforcement, public education, and improved infrastructure is intended to strengthen food safety standards and protect public health.