The Food and Drugs Authority has said that only one person died from suspected food poisoning at Oyibi Bush Canteen Junction, in Accra.
The authority also disclosed that some 53 people experienced symptoms of foodborne disease after consuming waakye or plain rice and tomato stew from the local eatery.
“So far one (1) person has been reported dead, but the exact cause of death is yet to be confirmed. Environmental assessment of the food preparation site located at Malejor and the three vending sites at Bush Canteen, Prison Joint and Sharp Curve Joint revealed poor food handling practices which could have resulted in the contamination of the food, leading to the foodborne disease outbreak,” a statement from the FDA said.
Meanwhile, FDA has suspended the operations of Yellow Sisi “until measures have been put in place to ensure that their activities are brought into compliance to prevent future occurrences.”
Below is the full statement by the FDA
FDA CONDUCTS INVESTIGATIONS INTO FOOD-BORNE DISEASE OUTBREAK IN OYIBI, ACCRA
The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) received notification through its Food Safety Alert System on Sunday, 22nd January 2023, on a suspected foodborne disease outbreak which was reported to have occurred at Oyibi, within the Adenta Municipality, in the Greater Accra Region.
In line with the Food Safety Emergency Response Plan, a joint investigation with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) started immediately. Investigations revealed that a total of fifty-three (53) people experienced symptoms of foodborne disease after consuming waakye or plain rice and tomato stew from a food vendor called Yellow Sisi located at Bush Canteen, a suburb of Oyibi.
So far one (1) person has been reported dead, but the exact cause of death is yet to be confirmed. Environmental assessment of the food preparation site located at Malejor and the three vending sites at Bush Canteen, Prison Joint and Sharp Curve Joint revealed poor food handling practices which could have resulted in the contamination of the food, leading to the foodborne disease outbreak.
The FDA has suspended the operations of Yellow Sisi until measures have been put in place to ensure that their activities are brought into compliance to prevent future occurrences.
The FDA launched its Street Food Vending Scheme in November 2021, in conjunction with the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies.
The Scheme, which was developed under the FAO Healthy Street Food Incentive Project, aims at issuing compliant vendors with a Street Food Vending Permit. Consumers must therefore insist on seeing these permits in their favourite eateries before patronizing their services. We strongly urge street food vendors to apply for the Permit.