Joe Creations and Spring Preparatory School in the Volta Region have received approval from the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to produce facial masks for commercial purposes.
A total of 114 companies have been licensed to produce the commodity across the country.
The Volta Regional Director of the FDA, Mr Gordon Akurugu, who disclosed this said a total of 22 entities were also licensed to produce hand sanitizers in the Region.
He said the FDA, as a regulatory body under the Ministry of Health, was mandated to ensure the safety, efficacy of drugs, household chemicals and food products in the country.
Mr Akurugu said FDA’s direct contribution to the control of COVID-19 was the licensing of nose masks and hand sanitizers for quality assurance and safety of the population.
The Regional Director warned individuals and companies who were producing or wishing to produce such items to seek approval from the regional offices of the FDA or face the rigours of the law.
“Such entities who will pass the criteria or licensing parameters will receive approval to regulate safety of the products,” he said.
Mr Akurugu said the FDA had stepped up vigilance at the country’s borders and would ensure that smugglers who brought in sub-standard or counterfeited drugs were arrested.
He said there were designated ports of entry for all delicate medications and that with the collaboration of border control agencies the FDA would not allow ‘nation-wreckers’ to take advantage of an already precarious global health emergency situation to cause more havoc.
Mr Akurugu called on all to maintain the safety protocols including the vigorous hand washing with soap under running water, physical distancing and the wearing of facial masks.
