COLD STORE MANAGER NABBED FOR REBAGGING UNWHOLESOME MEAT (SPREAD)

Story: Rose Hayford Darko & Anasthasia Dzovor, TEMA

Police and Fire Service personnel in Tema have arrested a cold store manager at the Tema Fishing Harbour for repacking over 600 cartons of unwholesome frozen chicken and pig feet for sale to the public.
The suspect, Sylvester Spain, manages the Servistar Cold Store at the fishing harbour.
Briefing the press, an official of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) in charge of the Tema Fishing Harbour, Mr Kwame Nsiah Poku, said upon a tip-off, police and fire service personnel who were on a special duty at the fishing harbour approached Mr Spain to open his cold store for inspection but he refused.
He said the team positioned a police officer at the cold store and continued with its duties elsewhere.
Mr Nsiah said information later reached the operations team that the cold store owner had opened it, based on which it went back, only to find some of the rotten chicken and pig feet ready for repackaging. Also found were Sellotape and weighing scales used in the repackaging.
Meanwhile, the cold store has been put under special lock by the police and the FDB, pending investigations.
Mr Nsiah said following the unhealthy situation unearthed at the Servistar Cold Store, the FDB would embark on an operation to ensure that meat, fish, chicken and all related products in cold stores in the Tema metropolis were wholesome and safe for consumption.
When Mr Spain was interrogated, he claimed that he imported the items but he was not willing to disclose other details. He, however, admitted that some of the products were rotten and said he was arranging to dispose of them. He explained that the malfunctioning of the systems at the cold store led to the bad state of the products and also affirmed that there were mice and other rodents in the building but disagreed that it was his duty to clear them, since he rented the premises.
Mr Spain mentioned the Greenwich Company as owner of the cold store and said it was responsible for cleanliness at the entire place.