The Chief Executive Officer of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Manso Opuni, delivered a message to industry players and regulators as Ghana joined the rest of the world to mark World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD).
In a statement issued to commemorate the day, the CEO said that ensuring consumer safety requires more than just product registration numbers and laboratory certificates. It demands a disciplined regulatory framework, sustained public education, and the deliberate cultivation of public trust.
“Safe products do not come by chance: they are the product of a disciplined and coherent regulatory framework,” a portion of the statement read.
This year’s WCRD was observed under the global theme: “Safe Products, Confident Consumers.”
Opuni acknowledged that consumers often grapple with anxiety over the safety of products that enter their homes, from food and medicines to household chemicals.
He posed a direct question to regulators and industry stakeholders.
How robust are our regulatory systems, certifications, product registration processes, laboratory testing, inspections, and enforcement?
“Safe products mean more than just passing a test or bearing a registration number.
It is about effective oversight, pre-market approval, post-market authorisation, and surveillance.
It is also about regulatory rigour, consistency, and integrity at every stage,” he said.
To address these concerns, the Authority is strengthening its regulatory architecture to make inspections and enforcement more timely and consistent.
A key part of this transformation is the deployment of the Ghana Food and Drugs Authority Integrated Regulatory Management System (GFIRMS), a digital platform designed to integrate regulatory workflows into a single system.
“When businesses can track the status of their applications in real time, and consumers can verify the registration status of the products they purchase, the entire marketplace becomes more accountable. GFIRMS is our commitment to that accountability,” Opuni said.
The statement also tackled the psychology of the Ghanaian consumer. It challenged the notion that consumer anxiety is irrational, describing it instead as a natural response to a lack of reliable information.
“Paranoia, where it exists, is not irrational. It is the rational response to a lack of information.
When consumers do not know how to validate a registered product, and where to report suspected fakes, fear fills the vacuum that knowledge should occupy,” Opuni said.
He stressed that telling consumers to “be confident” is not enough. Confidence, he argued, must be built through sustained public education delivered in local languages, through trusted channels, and targeted at specific audiences wherever they may be found.
“FDA’s public education is thus not a peripheral function; it is central to our mandate. We will therefore deepen consumer education in the markets, schools, health facilities, digital spaces, etc., and intensify surveillance to empower customers to make informed choices.
These interventions will move consumers from paranoia to confidence.”
The FDA also announced it is developing a Reputation Management Framework to address issues that erode public trust, including rumours, misinformation, and product safety crises.
“Public trust in regulation is in itself a resource; one that must be carefully cultivated.
When damaged, it must be deliberately restored,” the CEO noted.
The framework is expected to bring speed, transparency, and credibility to regulatory interventions, ensuring that consumers remain informed and protected even in times of crisis.
Source: Classfmonline.com
