The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has cautioned school food vendors against the excessive use of sugar and other sweeteners in meals prepared for school children.

Dr. Martin Kusi, Western Regional Director of the FDA, said the practice exposed children to numerous health risks with long-term negative consequences.

“Food should be healthy, nutritious and, above all, safe. No one should become ill as a result of what they eat,” he stressed, noting that vendors often added more sugar to meals because of children’s preference for sweet tastes.

He made the remarks when the FDA, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), engaged School Health Education Programme (SHEP) coordinators in the Western Region on food safety. The session formed part of activities marking this year’s World Food Safety Day.

The training aimed to empower SHEP officers to effectively carry out their supervisory role in ensuring food safety in schools, in line with the FDA’s mandate to protect and promote public health.

Dr. Kusi explained that unsafe foods were often linked to microbial contamination, germs, and harmful chemical substances. He said this underscored the importance of sensitisation, which equipped inspectors with the knowledge to identify early warning signs during school inspections and apply timely control measures.

With support from the FAO, the FDA is engaging key stakeholders to strengthen the enforcement of food safety regulations and protect the public, especially children, from unsafe food.