Accra, Aug 4, GNA – The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has suspended the manufacture of Tasty Tom Enriched Tomato Mix, ordering a market recall of specific batches of the product.
A release copied to Ghana News Agency said the suspension followed consumer complaints and FDA’s investigation of Nutrifoods Ghana Limited’s manufacturing plant, which “established infractions on standards and quality.”
“Maintenance of critical manufacturing equipment was poor, and monitoring systems were inadequate to protect public health and safety,” it said.
“The lapses at the manufacturing plant affected the integrity of the canned products by compromising the sealing mechanisms, leading to contamination and bloating of the products in pouches.”
“Mold was found on some of them, raising serious health and safety concerns, hence the suspension and product recall.”
The FDA noted that internal investigations had commenced to ascertain if there were regulatory lapses.
Nutrifoods had earlier in January 2025 been barred from manufacturing the product.
Any dereliction of duty identified would be swiftly dealt with in order to strengthen the FDA’s regulatory oversight, the release said.
“The Authority advises consumers, retailers and wholesalers to take note of this directive and act accordingly. We will continue to exercise rigorous oversight in accordance with our mandate to protect public health and safety,” it added.
Nutrifoods Ghana Limited said it would investigate the root cause of the problem, as it had recalled all batches of the Tasty Tom Enriched Tomato Mix in 210g and 400g Cans, and Tasty Tom Enriched Tomato Mix in 380g and 1.05kg, with specified batch numbers.
Jay Jagadip Anjaria, the Business Head, Nutrifoods Ghana Limited, said the identified products with respective batch numbers should not be consumed but returned to its Tema Office or with any of its distributors nationwide.
“Alternatively, you can contact us on 050 5384429 (Monday to Friday 8:00am-8:00pm). Please be assured that we are working closely with the FDA to ensure that this recall process goes as smoothly as possible,” he said in a statement.
The company expressed regret of any inconvenience caused to consumers and trade partners because of the issue and recall.
“We at Nutrifoods Ghana Ltd are committed to delivering high quality products meeting all the required stringent national food safety standards and ensure our consumers are delighted with our products,” he said.
“We want to reassure our consumers and trade partners that we are doing our best to recover all affected products and replace them without difficulty.”
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe