I must commend the Food and Drugs Board [FDB] of Ghana, under the leadership of Dr. Opuni, for the seriousness the agency has attached to the fight against the importation, distribution and use of counterfeit drugs, unwholesome and expired food substances since he assumed office under the Mills-led administration. The FDB has been down to business in going after unscrupulous individuals and importers whose profiteering activities largely imperil the lives of our people in the long run. There have been reports of the upsurge of cancer cases and other deadly organ complications in our hospitals across the country traceable to the ingestion of semi poisonous substances that wreck these critical organs of the body over time. The FDB had been on active on the storage of food substances and drugs in the warehouses of importers and manufactures and in keeping the players of the industry on their toes, the agency conducts periodic inspections and visits in collaboration with the Ghana Standards Boards and the Security agencies to the sites of these operators. These rounds have achieved much result with the impounding of some food products and their subsequent destruction and the arrest of owners of these products and warehouses. Since the beginning of the year, Dr. Opuni and his hardworking team have been ahead of those who wished to swindle consumers and the state as regards their nefarious operations aimed at nothing but generating ill-gotten wealth and have accordingly arrested a number of business operators who flaunt provisions of the provisions of the Food and Drugs Law, 1992 (PNDC L 305B). Impounded fake food products since January 2012 include Hord’s Cocoa Powder, imported and distributed by Buchberger Enterprise located at Batsonaa on the Spintex Road; assorted fake alcoholic beverages, gallons of flavourings, labels belonging to Multi Giant Ventures. Multi Giant Ventures is said to belong to one George Kofi Asomani who is also the distributor of some local alcoholic beverages including Agya Appiah Bitters, Ohene Ba Kasempa Abe Nsuo Gin and Baron Captain’s Dry Gin. The FDB further reveals that this same company has produced fake J.H Henke’s Schnapps, J.H Captain’s schnapps, Castle Bridge London Dry Gin and had been distributing these products on the Ghanaian market until he was busted. Upon his arrest, fifteen [15] bottles of fake Hennessy Cognac (a product of France0 was also found in his bedroom where the alcoholic beverages were produced. A press statement released by Mr. Kofi Essel, Head of Food Inspectorate Division of the FDB on Thursday March 1, 2012 cautioned producers of salt that the board is set to deal ruthlessly with all those who violate the FDB Law of 1996 which makes it mandatory for salt to be iodized before consumption. The unsuspecting public would not have known these facts and these products if Dr. Opuni and his men had not taken the fight to the homes, workplaces and warehouses of these unscrupulous manufacturers, importers and distributors, of course, with great cooperation from the public. One wonders how many patrons of these products in the past have not been adversely affected by what they have consumed with the manifestation lurking to take a toll on their health. It is in the light of this danger that all and sundry must support the work of the Food and Drugs Board to enable them protect consumers and to guarantee healthier lifestyles of the good people of Ghana. In view of the fact that a majority of the population is still illiterate and rural dwellers, more is expected of Dr. Opuni and his team to reach out to our brothers and sisters out there with much education and exposures they make so that these companies, producers and distributors do not come up with ways of sneaking these fake products into the rural areas where they are most likely to exploit the ignorance of the masses. It is my opinion that the FDB must introduce a policy via their Public Affairs outfit to publish full list of items whose expiry dates are due two months ahead of date so the public could be on red alert for these products. This will also offer some time for people outside the catchment areas of the major towns and cities to get the news ahead of time so they do not patronise these products upon expiry. Our media houses must also spend time discussing such issues that directly affect the health of the citizenry to educate them enough on the features one should look out for on these fake products and accordingly report them to the outlets of the Food and Drugs Board for prompt action. The delay in prosecuting manufacturers, importers and distributors who fall foul of the law is another major problem that must be addressed. Many of these cases take months if not years to discharge. The courts must be seen to be actively involved in dealing with such issues for the public to appreciate the seriousness of these crimes. The Food and Drugs Board could also consider the possibility of exploring the inventions of Mr. Bright Simons to the best advantage of the board and the good people of Ghana. Bright Simons runs a company Mpedigree Network which uses mobile phone technology to check the authenticity of some anti-malaria products in Ghana and in Nigeria. It would be a major boost if that system is applicable to local food and drugs in Ghana and would support the efforts and reduce the cost for the FDB in clamping down on these unscrupulous manufacturers and producers. I congratulate Dr. Opuni and the Food and Drugs Board for the successes they have chalked up for the good people of Ghana since he assumed office and I wish to encourage the public to be interested in the quality and source of the food and drug products they consume by day. This is crucial as a safety measure to protect ourselves from the vampires of businesses whose only interest is to male money at the expense of the consumer. The Food and Drugs Board has over the period published these telephone numbers, 0244337235, 0244337251 and 0244337243 for the public to contact the agency with information on matters relating to the safety and security of Food and Drugs in Ghana. It would help our generation a lot if Dr. Opuni engages more on the activities of the FDB on social media like twitter, facebook, Google+ among others to reach out to the youth with sensitization, alerts and public information on their activities for on the spot references by the click of a button on our mobile phones and tablets. God Bless our Homeland Ghana. God Bless a Better Ghana. Felix Mawulolo Amegashie NDC Youth Activist elolo.elolo@gmail.com