Author: Maame Owusuaa Oppong
The Consumer Protection Agency’s (CPA), a surveillance task force which seeks to uphold the rights of consumers welfare, health, safety and economic interest has uncovered that paint products, labelled “American Paint”, have no approval from the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA).
At a press briefing, the Chief Executive Officer, Kofi Kapito said these unlabeled paints are re-packaged and labeled as “American Paints”, which are sold and distributed into the local market.
Although, very popular in the market, these paints are imported into the country packaged in unlabeled drums, lacking any indication or origin or manufacturer of which he described it as fraudulent.
“Our investigations confirm that products manufactured in the USA, whether for domestic use or export, should not lack essential labeling, including the manufacturer’s details, batch number, ingredients, expiring date and barcode for traceability”, he stated.
According to him, the rate of unprofessional and unlicenced individuals producing paints at backyards and homes is very alarming and there’s the need for authorities to step up to take legal actions.
He said, production of paints may be harmful to ones health if not handled professionally and in a supervised environments by skilled and professional employees under strict safety conditions, as mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA).
He stated emphatically that, EPA and GSA have been informed to collaborate with CPA in cracking down these illegal paint producers to safeguard public health.
