Nana Oye Ankrah, Executive Director of Save Consumers Ghana
Save Consumers Ghana (SCG) a Non- Governmental Organisation in Accra has launched a 1-month social media campaign to create awareness among Ghanaian consumers on how to avoid expired, unwholesome, substandard, and dumped products ahead of the yuletide and beyond.
The campaign, which runs with the hashtag #Shopsafely is aimed at educating the public to look out for only properly labeled (in English) items approved by Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).
The campaign is also to ensure that the consumer is protected from harmful, unwholesome, and substandard items during and after this Christmas.
"It is important that we create this all-important awareness because some consumers may be tempted to buy cheaply priced items, some of which may have expired or are substandard. The temptation to buy soft-priced consumables is seemingly high during this period and we must be conscious of our choices as consumers," Nana Oye Ankrah, Executive Director of Save Consumers Ghana said.
She further stressed “Our approach, is to use only social media because the FDA statements on this issue are mostly captured only in the traditional media. We are attempting to serve the public good by complimenting the statutory obligations of the FDA using Facebook and other social media platforms as other means of effective communication. Therefore, when messages with the hashtag #Shopsafely pop up, people will be reminded that they have to be careful of what they buy on the market.”
The two month-long campaign will be driven by Ghanaians all over the world through the reposting of the hashtag #Shopsafely.