The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Roderick Kwabena Daddey-Adjei, has dismissed online claims that vendors add plastic to the oil used to fry plantain chips to make them crispier.
Speaking on Channel One Newsroom on Wednesday, March 11, he said the FDA is conducting nationwide market surveillance to investigate the allegations.
However, there is currently no evidence that plastic is being used in the frying of plantain chips.
He described the reports as fabricated and misleading, noting that such myths are not unique to Ghana.
“What is going around is purporting that if you use plastic, the plastic melts and then coats the plantain, and therefore it becomes crisp. That is wrong, and that is something we have already put out there on social media and on YouTube, where we emphasise that these are myths—in fact, not only in Ghana. There are other places in Asia where such stories and some people who want to trend come up with such stories,” he stated.
“We want to assure the public that so far the FDA hasn’t had such evidence and is still conducting the market surveillance. If you put such plastics in oil, the plastic is another type of chemistry, and the oil is edible—they don’t mix. So people should not come up with such information,” he added.
He urged the public to report any genuine food safety concerns directly to the FDA, rather than circulating videos or rumours on social media that may be invalid.