FDA trains “Burkina” drink producers in Accra
The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has organised a day’s training session for producers of “Burkina” a local delicacy made with millet and milk to enable manufacturers to prepare the products under safe and hygienic conditions.
Producers, selected from Nima, in Accra, who forms about 80 per cent of Burkina producers in the capital city, were equipped with basic knowledge in food safety and hygiene practices to ensure production of safe and quality finished products.
Burkina, also known as “dahger,” manufactured predominantly within Muslim Communities in Nima, Maamobi and Madina is feared to be prepared under conditions which may pose food safety issues, especially preventing food poisoning from the milk product.
Most consumers of the product mainly patronise it in traffic, lorry stations and market centres.
Mrs Isabella Agra, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, in charge of Food Safety Division, FDA, said the conditions under which the product was produced, right from the point of production to final consumption had become a paramount concern in maintaining food safety and quality.
She said because the mandate of the FDA was to protect public health and safety, it had become imperative to address the issue by organising the training programme for major Burkina producers in the Accra metropolis to improve their production operations.
“A better understanding of food safety issues by these indigenous producers, through the training, will hopefully result in compliance to regulatory guidelines and consequently protect public health and safety” she added.
Mrs Janet Amissah Tetteh, a Director at FDA, who took the producers through the training sessions, said Burkina was a complete meal full of protein and very good for everyone, especially children, but could also cause serious food poisoning when prepared and packaged under unhygienic conditions.
She said the use of fresh milk in the preparation of the products makes it more critical for producers to pay attention to its production, adding that, diary or milk products, were potentially hazardous foods because they were high in proteins, have high moisture levels and were neutral to slightly acidic, making it to undergo bacterial spoilage.
Mrs Tetteh asked the producers to ensure that they sourced raw materials made up of milk, millet, sugar and water from reputable suppliers and free of contamination.
She said the milk must go through heat treatment to help destroy spoilage and disease-causing microorganisms thereby helping extend quality of milk.
The Millet should also be sorted properly, and washed thoroughly with portable water, while gloves should be used at any stage of production, whilst good packaging and storage processes should be strictly adhered to.
Mrs Faustina Atupra, Acting Head of Food Safety Department, FDA, explained that, the training was first in series of training to be carried out and that Burkina producing areas in Tema and Ashaiman would be visited to enable other producers to benefit from the training.
Mr Samuel Adam Vanderpuye, a Burkina Producer, said the training would help add up to the knowledge of participants to improve upon the quality of the products.
Source: GNA