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Health alert! Contaminated ‘shito’ floods market
Information available to this paper indicates that some unscrupulous dealers in hot pepper sauce (shito) in Accra are said to be selling contaminated product to the unsuspecting public in order to make more profit.
It is alleged the “shito” is usually made with unhygienic and discarded fish heads and scales of dried herrings (amane or Keta School boys) for sale.
But a trader at the Kaneshie Market (name withheld) in Accra, confirmed this in an exclusive interview with The Spectator when this reporter took it upon herself to interrogate the veracity or otherwise of the issue at stake.
She said the “shito” makers purposely came to the market to buy these discarded parts of the herrings and add a few uncontaminated ones to it before grinding them together in a near-by mill.
She said these illegal and criminal activities had been going on for a long time, but it was only now that, she had got the courage to expose them, following the COVID-19 outbreak which calls for consumption of healthy foods.
“I have always wondered why some hot pepper sauce (shito) bought from the market had so much sand in it,” a customer lamented.
“I was disappointed when I saw dried fish heads and scales poured on the bare floor and flies hovering all around it just in front of a fish seller’s basket at the Kaneshie market,” another said .
The informant said she approached the fish seller and asked her if the fish scales and heads were for sale and she responded in the affirmative.
Still surprised and wanting to know more, “I asked her what it was used for and she said “for shito.”
According to her, that was what most “shito” makers used in preparing their product .
Many health experts had predicted that, disease would hit consumers harder if the high level of insanitary conditions in the markets were not addressed.
In a telephone interview with a senior health official at the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) who pleaded anonymity, he confirmed that they had received reports of some women making “shito” with unhealthy and discarded fish parts.
He gave an assurance that their health officials would go round some of the markets in Accra to check on these aberrations and those found culpable would be brought to book or prosecuted in the law courts.
Dr Kojo Cobba Essel, a Medical Doctor and Chief Executive Officer of Health Essentials Limited, commenting on the subject was of the view that if the traders used only a part of the fish that is edible then there is no problem.
But “if (the traders), indeed, used fish scales then that should be a cause for worry because the “scales are not digestible,” he said.
He explained that the presence of sand in the hot pepper sauce (shito) could cause stomach disorders as the sand may contain other impurities.
For this reason, Dr Essel stressed the need for food inspection agencies to step up their game by conducting random checks at the markets and, where neccessary, issue warning whenever they identified contaminated products.
“Not everybody can go to the high-end places to buy their “shito”; many people would still buy from the street. So we are at the mercy of the enforcement agencies. Once they identify and blacklist people [through enhanced surveillance], those who sell unwholesome products would refrain from the practice,” he noted.
He has therefore advised individuals to prepare their own hot pepper or black sauce (shito) at home, if they can, or allow someone they trust to prepare it for them.
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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal
Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.
Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.
Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.
Here are the results in Zone Two
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Cervical Cancer alert: Avoid sex at early age
The Programmes Manager of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Mary Efua Commeh, has advised young girls to avoid sex at an early age.
This, she explained, will give the cervix the opportunity to mature before they become sexually active.
“You need to delay what we call the first sexual intercourse as much as possible to give the cervix the opportunity to mature before the person becomes sexually active,” she said.
Dr Commeh stated this in an interview with The Spectator in Accra on Tuesday as a part of the Cervical Cancer awareness month.
According to her, cervical cancer was the second leading female cancer in Ghana with a total of about 3,072 cases annually, and out of that, 1,815 deaths are recorded, representing more than 50 per cent.
She indicated that “If young girls are going to be sexually active, then you need to talk to your parents about being vaccinated.”
She explained that vaccinating young girls against human papillomavirus (HPV) has been found to be a very effective way of preventing cervical cancer.
“There are countries that started HPV vaccination years ago and they are not seeing any cervical cancers now because they would have eliminated most of the high-risk HPVs in their women. So if the high-risk HPV is not there, then obviously the results on cervical cancers are going to go down,” she added.
Dr Commmey said the HPV vaccination is recommended for young girls aged nine to 14 years, adding that it had been found to be highly effective, not just for cervical cancers but for other HPV-related cancers, such as anal cancers, cancers of the vagina, genital warts, amongst others.
She further elaborated that the idea is to put up a barrier before the HPV comes in and that once a young female encounters it, she is already protected.
She also mentioned that for cervical cancers, the main cause is called HPV infection, saying generally, all sexually active women acquire HPV at some point in their lives.
However, the Programmes Manager of NCDs at the GHS mentioned that the body has a way of clearing the HPV, explaining that it is a natural mechanism that goes on, unfortunately, there are a few women whose HPV persists.
Moreover, she noted that the numbers for Cervical Cancer tend to be much higher because at times, clients would wait, and try all sorts of medications before they finally report to the health facility saying “we actually lose some women before they get to the hospitals with over 75 per cent of the cases coming in its third and fourth stages.”
Dr Commey, therefore, called for public awareness while ensuring the availability of information for prevention and control.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
