Ghana is on the path to overcoming issues related to aflatoxin contamination in food and feed—maize, groundnut, sorghum, and derived products—by launching a landmark National Policy for Aflatoxin Control in Food and Feed. The Aflatoxin Policy, launched in Accra on 12 October, provides a coordinated approach among institutions and stakeholders to control aflatoxin in foods and feeds to reduce foodborne diseases. A successful implementation would also increase the income of farmers and agricultural stakeholders and promote food security and food safety in keeping with Goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—Achieve Zero Hunger by 2030.
Ghana’s Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Dr Kwaku Afriyie, lauded the effort of the Science and Technology Policy Research Institute of Ghana’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-STEPRI) for their leading role in developing the policy. Afriyie emphasized that aflatoxin contamination in crops has serious implications for food security, health, trade, and livelihoods. He noted how aflatoxin might be linked to increased liver cancer cases in Ghana (21% of all recorded cancer cases in Ghana).