Olive Oil Scammers Busted in Ghana

Summary

Several bot­tlers in Ghana were arrested for sell­ing coun­ter­feit olive oil, with some sub­mit­ting sam­ples for approval before switch­ing them out with fake prod­ucts. The Ghanaian Food and Drug Authority is con­duct­ing inspec­tions to ensure com­pli­ance with Good Manufacturing Practices, as Ghana’s strong econ­omy and gov­er­nance have made it a regional power in West Africa.

Police in Ghana arrested sev­eral bot­tlers accused of sell­ing veg­etable and ​“other” oils labeled as olive oil, Ghanaian news sites reported.

In some cases, the scam­mers sub­mit­ted sam­ples to the Food and Drug Authority for approval, before switch­ing out the oil with coun­ter­feits to release into the mar­ket.

Four brands were outed: Kazmor, Pinno, Holy Olive Oil and one named, omi­nously ​“Quality Olive Oil.”

Ghana Police said the accused fraud­sters are coop­er­at­ing with author­i­ties.

The Food Enforcement Department (FED) of Ghana’s Food and Drug Authority con­ducts inspec­tions of food man­u­fac­tur­ing, stor­age, retail and dis­posal in order to ver­ify com­pli­ance with its codes of Good Manufacturing Practices.

The FED has three oper­a­tional units which are the Food Post Market Surveillance (FPMSU), Food Premises Inspections (FPIU) and Industrial Support Services (ISSU) Units.

Ghana’s econ­omy is among the strongest in Africa, fol­low­ing more than 25 years of rel­a­tive sta­bil­ity and good gov­er­nance. Ghana’s grow­ing eco­nomic pros­per­ity and demo­c­ra­tic sys­tem of gov­ern­ment has made it a regional power in West Africa.