Chemicalised foods: FDA lacks resources to test for pesticide residue

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) says it does not have the laboratory equipment to analyse pesticide residues in food crops.

The situation has affected the FDA’s consistency in carrying out regular pesticide analysis on food in markets across the country. 

Maureen Lartey, a Senior Regulatory Officer at the FDA, made the revelation at a forum on Media and Food Safety organised by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) in Accra.

Under the circumstances, she said the authority is only able to analyse heavy metals in food crops and not pesticide residues.

As a result, she said the FDA collaborates with the Ghana Standards Authority to carry out these surveys. Mrs. Lartey added that the FDA has not conducted regular pesticide surveys due to resource constraints. The last two surveys, conducted in 2019 and 2023, both found residue levels within acceptable values.

“Pesticide residue analysis is expensive. If our lab is [sic] well-equipped to test for pesticide residues, then we’ll be able to do it maybe twice in a year. We will be able to screen a wide range of crops. Now, if we send about 100 products to GSA, it will cost a lot of money,” she said.

Beyond equipment limitations, Mrs. Lartey said the Authority struggles with inadequate personnel to conduct nationwide surveys. The FDA often relies on National Service Personnel which it trains to carry out field data collection. However, the capacity of these personnel are limited as they are not professionals.

 Pesticides are widely used by farmers in Ghana to protect crops from pests. However, improper use has led to reported cases of deaths as a result of pesticide poisoning. In one incident,  five people at Akakpokope in South Tongu District of the Volta region passed after consuming food that contained Chlorpyrifos, a very toxic substance commonly used as pesticide.

Similarly, at Abavana Down, a suburb of Accra, three people died in 2018 after inhaling organophosphate from “Topstoxin,” a fumigation tablet used to control insects in stored grain and processed food.

 In 2010, the Upper East Regional Health Directorate reported 15 deaths linked to pesticide poisoning, primarily caused by poor storage practices that allowed pesticides to contaminate food stocks.

The forum, which brought together journalists, scientists, market leaders, civil society organisations, policymakers, and consumer advocates, highlighted growing public concern about the safety of food consumed across the country.

Experts called for stronger regulations, media collaboration, and an urgent national response.

Speaking on behalf of the MFWA’s Executive Director, Sulemana Braimah, Director of the Media and Good Governance Programme, Abigail Larbi-Odei, said the country is facing an alarming food safety crisis that demands coordinated attention, stronger public awareness, and evidence-based journalism.

“We are all concerned about the quality of the food we consume. We need answers to why food items we buy go bad within a short time. These are the conversations we must have, grounded in evidence-based reporting,” she said.

She noted that across the country, anxiety is rising over vegetables tainted with unsafe pesticide residues, grains preserved with harmful chemicals, and fruits artificially ripened with dangerous substances.

“These are not abstract issues; they are the everyday realities affecting us as individuals and our collective well-being,” Mrs. Larbi-Odei stressed.

She stressed that the media could not successfully highlight these threats without active collaboration with regulators, scientists, civil society, farmers, and consumer groups.

“Today’s forum creates the space for those conversations to happen,” she said.

“Our goal is simple, to enhance public awareness, strengthen cooperation, and encourage evidence-based reporting that empowers citizens to demand safer foods across the value chain.”

 Heavy Metal and Chemical Contamination

The event’s keynote speaker, Yakubu Adam, a toxicologist with Forensic Investigation for National Development Ghana (FIND-GH), warns that Ghana’s food system is increasingly contaminated with dangerous chemicals and heavy metals.

“We must take urgent precautionary measures in the food we consume before it becomes too late,” he cautioned. According to him, the contamination of food is being worsened by illegal mining (galamsey), which introduces mercury, lead, and other heavy metals into the food chain.

“Currently, we are consuming mercury, lead, and other heavy metals in our food. These same foods are also heavily contaminated with agrochemicals,” he said.

He stressed that pesticides are an integral part of agriculture, but their misuse, ranging from poor handling to lack of regulation, poses severe risks.

“It is high time we sat together as a country to find lasting solutions to the chemical exposures in our food,” he urged.

Mr. Adam criticised Ghana’s weak regulatory enforcement and appealed to the government for increased funding and attention to food safety institutions such as the FDA, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Ghana Standards Authority.

“The focus has always been on health professionals, but prevention is better than cure.”

He also warned against complacency because some chemicals lack clinical human toxicity data. “There is no clinical data for most pesticides because it is unethical. However, the fact that we do not have data does not mean we shouldn’t take action,” he said.

He further explained that testing for harmful chemicals is both complicated and expensive, given the vast number of agrochemicals currently available. He also raised concerns about transgenerational toxicity, where exposure to chemicals not only affects the individual exposed but is also passed down to their offspring.

The toxicologist criticised regulators such as the FDA, GSA and EPA for weak regulatory oversight, stressing that they must fully enforce existing laws. According to him, the EPA was mandated to revise its chemical register every six months but has failed to do so in the past two years.

Dr. Kwame Sarpong Appiah, a crop scientist at the University of Ghana also highlighted worrying lapses in the handling and use of agrochemicals by farmers. Many farmers, he said, do not follow recommended waiting periods between spraying and harvesting, posing severe risks to consumers.

“Some farmers do not wear personal protective equipment when handling and applying agrochemicals”, the soil scientist pointed out.

While acknowledging the challenges and risks associated with the use of agrochemicals, Dr. Appiah advocated for a balanced and integrated approach to crop management. He emphasized that reliance solely on synthetic chemicals can lead to environmental contamination, health hazards, and the development of pest resistance.

 On the other hand, depending solely on organic inputs could also affect the yield of farm produce. According to him, by adopting such a hybrid approach, farmers can maintain productivity and crop protection while safeguarding public health and the environment.

Traders disadvantaged

Speaking on behalf of traders, Mercy Naa Afrowa Needjan, the President of Greater Accra Markets Association, lamented that market women suffer significant losses due to inadequate storage facilities.

“If you look at the whole issue of food safety, market women are highly disadvantaged because we spend a lot of money on produce and, because there’s no room for storage, we run at a loss,” she said.

Ms. Needjan also called for food safety education to be made accessible in local languages so that traders can fully understand and apply it. She also expressed concern over the current unsafe condition of food produce in the markets.

 “We are encouraged at hospitals to eat more vegetables, yet we are now being told that these same vegetables may contain harmful chemicals”

The President of Greater Accra Markets Association urged the media to educate consumers that buying rotten vegetables may come at a higher health cost.

Policy Gaps and Media Capacity Building

Edwin Baffour, Communications Director at Food Sovereignty Ghana, criticised Ghana’s overreliance on agrochemicals and the lack of transparency in how the chemicals are imported.

“Unfortunately, our policymakers think you can only grow food by using agrochemicals. However, our forefathers were growing food without them,” he noted.

He called to attention, the opaque nature of agrochemical imports, noting that there is “very little knowledge or information” available to the public about which chemicals enter the country, in what quantities, and under what regulations. He warned that this lack of transparency not only undermines public trust but also exposes farmers and consumers to risks

He urged more training for journalists to strengthen their ability to investigate and report on agrochemical use and food safety issues.

Mr. Baffour concluded with a call to shift toward more sustainable farming models, specifically agroecology, to reduce dependence on synthetic chemicals while ensuring food security, protecting the environment, and public health.

Joyce Gyekye, a journalist with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), highlighted the role of the media in educating the public on the safe use of agrochemicals. She noted that Obonu Radio, which broadcasts in Ga and Ga-Adangbe, runs sensitisation programmes aimed at raising awareness about food safety and chemical use.

“The media has a crucial role in educating the public about the processes and the issues that are related to food safety and the chemicals that are applied,” Gyekye explained.

She also pointed out that one reason food safety and agrochemical use have not received sustained media attention is the need for investigative journalism, which often comes with high costs.

For journalists to consistently report on these issues and make it their beat, they need education on agroecology and the effects of agrochemicals on food and crops.

According to Gyekye, this knowledge equips journalists to conduct in-depth investigations to uncover critical information, such as the origins of harmful chemicals, how they are stored, and ways in which farmers may be misapplying them.