Kwesi Kwarteng, spokesperson of the Ministry of Education, has clarified that the alleged expired and repackaged rice distributed to Senior High Schools (SHSs) under the Free SHS programme was certified as wholesome by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) before being supplied.
This comes after Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the MP for North Tongu, on November 14, made claims that about 22,000 bags of expired and repackaged rice were distributed to Senior High Schools (SHSs) across the country in February this year.
He alleged that the Buffer Stock storage facility in Kumasi, in the Ashanti region, was used to repackage expired rice brought from India, which expired in December 2023 but was repackaged into locally made sacks, “with the inscription ‘ECOWAS’, ‘Made in Ghana rice’, but without an expiry date.”
Speaking on Eyewitness News on November 15, 2024, Kwarteng refuted the claims, explaining that all necessary protocols were followed to ensure the rice was safe for consumption.
Kwarteng explained that after laboratory tests in India and subsequent FDA verification, the shelf life of the rice was extended to April 30, 2024, confirming it was fit for consumption.
He emphasised that the last distribution of the rice to schools occurred in February 2024, within the extended shelf life.
“Most importantly, the Buffer Stock Company Limited engaged Lamen Limited to procure rice for distribution to students under the free SHS. The facts are that a total of 11 metric tonnes were imported. The initial expiry date was December 2023. With the initial findings, we also have that the last quarter of 2023, Upper Stock Company Limited still had stocks yet to be supplied to schools and by our advice from the Food and Drugs Authority, Lamen Ventures had to go through the necessary protocols to have the rice retested in its country of origin which happens to be India. Because at the time they were seeking to get FDA to extend the shelf life of the rice.
“So, after they had gone through all the required protocols in India where the rice was produced, the FDA had to evaluate and verify the documentation and verify with the labs where the tests were done and then subsequently extended from December to April 30, 2024, and by so doing, they had confined that the rice was wholesome to be used by the stated date. It is important to note that by February 2024, was the last time Lamen even distributed that rice to schools,” he stated.
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