CPC HOSTS ANYAA SCHOOL CHILDREN (PAGE 29, FEB 16, 2010)

THE Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) at Tema, in conjunction with the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB), has played host to 100 children from the Anyaa Roman Catholic Basic School at Sowutoum in Accra as part of this year’s National Cocoa Day to inculcate in the children the habit of eating chocolate and increased patronage of the product.
The children were conducted round the factory and taken through the various production processes. They played musical chair, had dancing competition, painted their faces for fun and had acocoa lunch.
The Special Event Manager of the GTB, Mr Alex Boakye, said some children from needy communities had not had the opportunity to see the cocoa bean and how it was processed into chocolate.
He said the GTB initiated the Cocoa Day four years ago to encourage the Ghanaian populace to eat chocolate for their health and also to promote the country’s cocoa beans.
Mr Boakye said two groups of children were selected, noting that while one group was at the CPC factory at Tema, the other was touring the Mampong Akwapim Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Farm, Tafo Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) and Bunso, all in the Eastern Region.
He said it was to enable the children to learn about the country’s number one economic product.
Mr Boakye appealed to parents to eat chocolate and ensure that each child ate at least a bar of chocolate daily in order to achieve the targeted health benefits.
The Managing Director of the CPC, Mr Richard Armarh Tetteh, in a brief, told the children that the government saw the need to re-designate the Valentine’s Day with the National Chocolate Day to redirect their attention from how the day was perceived.
He said they must make good of the day by promoting the country’s cocoa instead of engaging in immoral activities.
Mr Tetteh said introduction of the day had seen a gradual increase in the consumption of chocolate, and urged the children to eat more chocolate for its health benefits.
He denied that chocolate had negative effects on the teeth, but said it was good for their health.
Mr Tetteh said the CPC had launched a sugar-free chocolate, which was on the market, to enable it to cover the entire population.
There was music to entertain the children who were accompanied by their teachers.