Crisis in nutrition: 5 markets in Accra with "poor" food quality

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According to a study conducted by Dr. Mavis Owureku-Asare, a food safety consultant, foods sold in large markets in Accra have been found to be of very poor nutritional quality.

Mr. Owureku-Asare mentioned tomatoes, oranges, pineapples, garden eyes, coconut leaves (Kontomire), as well as proteins such as shrimp and fish powder sold at Agbogbloshie markets, Dome, Kaneshie, Makola and Okaishie.

She explained to MyjoyonlineMarkets have an impact on foods because of the effects of handling, storage and presentation of these foods.

Photo:Dr. Mavis Owureku-Asare has researched the quality of foods sold in five markets.

Taking as an example oranges, she stated that open display of fruits in the sun and on the ground had a considerable impact on vitamin C content.

Vitamin C breaks down quickly in the heat and evaporates easily from the fruit. "What's orange without vitamin C," she questioned.

Dr. Owureku-Asare, senior researcher at the Agricultural Research Institute of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, said the anticancer drug in tomato was easily destroyed in these markets, reflecting the market conditions across the country.

Dr. Mavis Owureku-Asare also observed significant amounts of pesticide residues in some foods such as cabbage, lettuce, okro, "kontomire", corn and beans resulting from improper application of pesticides, which has important consequences for health.

The peanut paste is mixed with dried cbadava powder (Konkonte), while over 98% of the palm oil is adulterated with carcinogens.

And shrimp and fish powder were mixed with sawdust, she said, describing the practice as food fraud.

The food specialist explained that while the poor nutritional quality of food adulteration was widely known, the response of state institutions had little impact on the management of what is becoming a culture in Ghana's markets.

She called on the government to deploy an army of food scientists to explore markets and deal with the nutrition crisis in Ghana's markets.

The consultant wants to see similar strength and commitment to the government's efforts to combat illegal mining.

"We need a food policy," she said. Quality must be strengthened throughout the marketing chain, from production to distribution of products in our local markets, she added.

It also called on the public authorities to help its BNARI institute, which owns a compost plant, to produce organic fertilizers from food waste, to expand and develop its activities in order to absorb food waste from this market as a whole. as a raw material for the production of organic compost. .

BNARI can thus contribute to reducing the number of food waste in our markets.