The Ghanaian FDA has called on traders to help safeguard the industry against dangerous counterfeit cosmetic products that are infiltrating Makola Market, Accra, following advice to importers to register their products before putting them forward for sale. 

The move follows reports that fake, substandard, unregistered products are being sold in the market, a problem Chief Executive Officer of the FDA, Mrs Delasi Mimi Darko, says is of ‘regulatory concern in the cosmetics and household chemical substances industry.’

Indeed, following surveillance carried out by the Medical Devices, Cosmetics and Household Chemicals Department of the FDA at the Accra Central Market, the FDA called for importers to register their products before putting them on for sale while also calling for a partnership with market traders following the concerning results. 

The surveillance was said to have “revealed some worrying regulatory breaches with respect to the importation and sale of cosmetics and household chemical substances requiring that urgent steps were taken to address them”.

The breaches included the sale and importation of cosmetics that contained hydroquinone and the sale and importation of steroidal products as cosmetics. 

As part of the partnership with the market traders, the FDA shared its concerns while also educating them on the consequences and health implications of dealing with counterfeit and dangerous products, while also encouraging individuals to report anyone who breached the regulations.