Video Clip On Sausage Production Mischievous � FDA

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) says the video clip on how sausage is produced which is being circulated on the social media is inaccurate and mischievous. A statement signed by the Chief Executive of FDA, Mr Hudu Mogtari, said the video, which was first aired on NET 2 TV, courtesy Oheneba Ntim-Barimah, was a doctored clip. It said the video was a wrong attempt to describe the process of producing sausage. According to the statement, �The FDA, after carefully watching the video clip, wishes to inform the general public that the video is inaccurate, mischievous and deliberately falsified to misinform Ghanaians. �This is evidenced by the fact that the first 30 seconds of the video clip was culled from a video clip on how pigs were destroyed in Europe after an outbreak of disease,� the statement said. Video was doctored The statement said, however, that Oheneba Ntim-Barimah chose that portion of the clip to carry the impression that sausage producers used dirty, unslaughtered pigs/animals together with their bodies, heads, intestines, blood, faeces, fur and feet. �In the second half of the clip, Oheneba Ntim-Barimah actually culled an advertisement on sausage processing by John morell to complete his concept of sausage manufacture. Indeed, the full clip in the original John morell video on sausage, which is in the custody of FDA, details the use of edible parts of properly slaughtered, non-diseased animals for sausage manufacture,� it added. According to the statement, Oheneba Ntim-Barimah deleted the portion of the John Morell video clip which would have exposed him. It said the video clip paused and Oheneba Ntim-Barimah showed a clip of a woman who had been operated on for fibroid, and Oheneba Ntim-Barimah attributed the incidence of fibroid in the woman to the consumption of sausage. According to the FDA, that was a fallacy and, unfortunately, disingenuous way to promote healthy lifestyle by telling people not to patronise sausages. �The FDA regulates, inter alia, the safety and quality of sausages whether imported or manufactured locally. None of the six local sausage manufacturing companies registered by the FDA manufactures sausage as described by Oheneba Ntim-Barimah in his video clip,� it added. Press conference. In a related development, the Association of Sausage Producers has refuted allegations that sausages are produced from dead pigs. Addressing the press conference following the broadcast of the video, the President of the association, Mr Makafui Segbawu, stated: �We produce the best sausage in Ghana and do not use pork to produce them. Our sausages are produced from beef, turkey, chicken, salts, red pepper, spices, food starch, wheat flour and water.� He, therefore, urged Ghanaians to patronise the locally produced sausage to ensure their health security, as the locally produced sausages were produced with the best ingredients and under hygienic conditions. Effect of the video on sausage market Speaking on the consequences the association had encountered as a result of the said video, Mr Segbawu said the effect was enormous on the local sausage industry. He indicated that Ghanaians had virtually stopped patronising the product because of the information spread across by the content of the video�that sick and dead pigs were used in the production process.