Member of Parliament for North Tongu Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has in his latest expose revealed how the National Buffer Stock Company Limited connived with a private company to import into the country and distribute expired and contaminated rice to Senior High Schools for the consumption of students.
According to him, not even a FDA investigation and subsequent fine of GH¢100,000 imposed on the private company the imported the rice deterred Buffer Stock from distributing the rice for the consumption of Senior High School students across the country.
In a Facebook post, the MP stated that the said 33,000 50kg bags of Moshosho rice were imported from Indian company Satya Balajee Rice Industries PVT Ltd into the country by a company called Lamens Investment Africa with the Buffer Stock Company being the notify party.
Out of the 33,000 50kg bags, MP Okudzeto Ablakwa disclosed that the 22,000 bags of 50kg bags were sent to and received at the Ashanti regional office of Buffer Stock with remainder kept in a bonded warehouse in Tema known as Lynbrook.
In a shocking twist of events, the MP said the Ashanti Regional Office of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) received a hint on 20 December 2023 about a suspicious re-packaging exercise being carried out at the Ashanti Regional Buffer Stock Company Office.
It turned out the unauthorized exercise was being conducted by Lamens upon realizing that the best before date for the Moshosho rice they imported for the consumption of SHS students was December 2023.
“Lamens Investments Africa and National Food Buffer Stock realizing that the best before date for the Moshosho Rice was December 2023 started criminally re-packaging the Moshosho Rice from its original yellow 50kg polypropylene bags into white 50kg polypropylene bags with the inscription “CEDAO ECOWAS Regional Food Security Reserve.”
“Whilst the best before date on the original Moshosho Rice packaging was December 2023, there was no date on the new bags being used for the re-packaging. This contravenes the General Labelling Regulation, LI 1541. The country of origin (India) was also changed to Ghana concealing the true identity of the rice and creating a false narrative that Buffer Stock and the Free SHS Secretariat were distributing Made-in-Ghana rice.”
“This illegal re-packaging was carried out without FDA’s approval as required by law,” he stated.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said though the FDA investigations found Lamens in breach of its regulations and imposed an administrative fine of company GH¢100,000, the expired rice was distributed on orders from above.
The North Tongu MP said his checks confirmed that the rice was distributed on 2 February 2024 to many Senior High Schools across the country and cited PRESEC Legon as one of the centralized points from where other schools came to pick up the contaminated rice
“See attached to this publication, evidence of the distribution of the re-packaged expired and contaminated rice to Senior High Schools such as PRESEC, Legon and Bolga Girls. Note that PRESEC serves as the centralized warehouse for all Senior High Schools in the Greater Accra Region. That means all Senior High and TVET Schools pick up their supplies from PRESEC.”
“Further checks confirm that these schools received the re-packaged rice which did not have a best before date. Headmasters have told me they raised reservations but they were simply ignored.”
“This is the more tragic part — unfortunately, the FDA certificate of analysis on the re-packaged rice samples show significant presence of insects and a high fat acidity,” he stated.
