The FDA urges consumers to avoid purchasing food sold close to open gutters, as it poses a threat to public health.
Mr. Roderick Daddey-Adjei, Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of the Food Division at the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), has warned that the widespread practice of preparing and selling food in unhygienic conditions continues to undermine national efforts to improve food safety.
“Food should not be sold by a gutter, and we will not defend that,” Mr. Daddey-Adjei said during a radio interview on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. He described the problem as a long-standing cultural issue that requires both stricter enforcement and a change in consumer behaviour.
“We have developed a bad culture over time. Sanitation and education must be taken seriously. Any food seller whether selling waakye, kebab, or kenkey should not operate next to an open gutter,” he added.
Mr. Daddey-Adjei emphasized that consumers play a crucial role in protecting their own health by refusing to buy food from vendors working in unsafe conditions. “Education is key. Consumers need to make informed choices. Enforcement alone cannot solve the problem,” he said.
To address this, the FDA has been running public education campaigns in markets and communities, teaching vendors basic food hygiene and handwashing practices. “We go from market to market, meet vendors, engage market leaders, and educate about hygiene. But consumers also need to take responsibility,” he noted.
Enforcement, he admitted, remains a challenge due to the high number of informal food vendors and limited staffing. Local assemblies are tasked with monitoring sanitation, but compliance is inconsistent.
Under the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851), all food vendors including itinerant sellers must obtain permits and meet minimum hygiene standards before operating. However, Mr. Daddey-Adjei acknowledged that compliance remains low, and the FDA’s enforcement capacity is limited.
He warned that poor food hygiene has direct public health consequences, citing last year’s cholera outbreak, which spread from the Western Region to Central and Greater Accra. “Food safety affects everyone. When people fall sick, the impact is felt by all,” he said.
Mr. Daddey-Adjei urged the public to make safer choices by avoiding food sold in unhygienic locations. “If people stop buying food next to gutters and other unsafe areas, vendors will be forced to change how they operate. That is one of the strongest tools we have,” he concluded.