A survey conducted by the Food and Drugs Board ( FDB) and the Food Research Institute (FRI) has found that the practice of adulterating foods is on the rise in many parts of the country.

The study, which was conducted in eight regions of the country, including Greater Accra, Volta, Eastern, Central, Brong Ahafo, Western, Northern and Ashanti found alarming cases of food adulteration.

The Food and Drugs Board (FDB) has accordingly warned the public that adulterants to food are injurious to human health and urged consumers to report any unusual changes in their food to the board.

The survey, extracts of which are published on the front page, revealed that alum and chalk are being added to bread to whiten it, while for stale flour, ammonium carbonate are added to disguise its sour taste. More alarmingly, the study also found that mashed potatoes, sawdust and Plaster of Paris are also added to increase the weight of the bread.

Besides, food dyes, colours and miscellaneous compounds are used to disguise deteriorated or spoiled food and give an idea of freshness.

The study further found that saccharine was being added to maize porridge, sugar bread and doughnuts to sweeten the taste of the products while cassava flour, roasted maize meal, maize flour, dried, grinded pear seed, cooking oil, water and fresh cassava chips are being added to groundnut paste to increase its weight.

Obviously such ungodly practices are being engaged in with the sole motive of reducing manufacturing cost, and increasing weight to make the product appear better in order to conceal inferiority.

The dangers of eating adulterated food have been well documented. It is known that many adulterants easily cause cancer. Specifically, adulterants such as saccharine and aspartame can cause cancer while monosodium glutamate used in soups, stews and meat could damage the brain, cause mental retardation in infants, while other food flavours have the chance of causing cancer of the liver.

For instance though Potassium bromate (E924) used in baking bread has been highly publicized as a potential cancer causing agent, it is still being used in the bread industry in Ghana, with the aim of making abnormal profits.

Despite the Food and Drugs law prohibiting the sale of unwholesome, poisonous or adulterated food the system is yet to punish anybody violating the law. Many food sellers are so ungodly that they hardly destroy any spoilt or expired food. Such foods are sold for profit, mostly at the cost of human life.

Where is our morality as so-called religious and God -fearing people? The canker of adulterating food once brings to the fore our lost values and lack of fellow feeling. What has happened to our consciences, individually and collectively? Let those engaged in these nefarious practices put their consciences to the test and see where they stand before God. Of course such people must have deadened their consciences; in as far as they make money by hook or crook.

It is not just enough publishing the findings; this newspaper wants to see some of those engaged in such practices arrested and prosecuted. The FDB or any other law enforcement agency cannot do it alone. Stopping such acts require the collective will of all of us as consumers. Firstly, we can act by shunning such poisonous or shoddy goods and then reporting the culprits to the law enforcement agencies.

It is a fact that many people have contracted various diseases or have died untimely deaths through eating contaminated food. For how long will this continue?