Residents in Ho and surrounding communities have been cautioned against purchasing or consuming poultry products after large quantities of suspected spoiled chicken were illegally dumped at Avakpeta, a farming community located between Tsawenu in the Ho West District and Sokode Ando in the Ho Municipality.

The warning was issued by the Ho Municipal Environmental Health Officer, Lawrence Senya, following the discovery of several cartons of poultry products including chicken drumsticks, whole chickens, chicken feet and other frozen chicken parts, abandoned along a route leading to farmlands in the area.

According to Mr. Senya, environmental health officials received intelligence reports about the dumping of the products. 

He said the products were initially found in a frozen state and had no noticeable odour, prompting some residents to collect and process them for consumption.

“Some people removed the ice and prepared the products for food because there were no visible signs of spoilage at the time. However, we cannot rule out the possibility of contamination, toxins or other harmful substances which may have informed the decision by unknown persons to dispose of them in such a manner,” he stated.

Mr. Senya disclosed that investigations are underway to identify those responsible for the illegal dumping. 

Officers from the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), and Environmental Health officials have joined efforts to assess the situation and protect public health.

“We have commenced community sensitisation activities leading residents to voluntarily surrender poultry products they had collected from the site. Some had smoked, roasted, cooked or used the products in various meals before being advised of the potential danger,” he said.

Environmental health officials are currently collecting all retrieved products for safe disposal to prevent further public exposure. 

Authorities have also intensified public education efforts to discourage residents from patronising suspicious poultry products until investigations are completed.

Mr. Senya urged consumers to exercise caution when purchasing frozen poultry products, particularly whole chickens, drumsticks and chicken feet, from cold stores and retailers within the area.

He further advised cold store operators, wholesalers and retailers to notify environmental health authorities whenever they intend to dispose of food products or food waste to ensure proper and sanitary disposal procedures are followed.

The incident has raised serious concerns about food safety in the municipality with authorities appealing to the public to report any suspicious food dumping or unsafe food handling practices to the FDA or local environmental health offices to avert potential outbreaks of foodborne illnesses.

The Assemblyman for the area, Wilson Akorli described the situation as evil.

“This is an evil act for someone to dumped [sic] a spoiled frozen fish in my area to destroy my people  but I pray we get the person,” he said. 

He urged the residents to surrender the fish to the authorities.

Mr Akorli assured the residents of his readiness to collaboratively work with the authorities to bring the person or persons to book. 

He finally urged the residents to report to the nearest health facility in case they suspect any health challenge.