Editorial
Don’t use polythene bags to store hot, oily foods
- /home/u249204778/domains/spectator.com.gh/public_html/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 27
Warning: Trying to access array offset on false in /home/u249204778/domains/spectator.com.gh/public_html/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 27
&description=Don’t use polythene bags to store hot, oily foods', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
- Share
- Tweet /home/u249204778/domains/spectator.com.gh/public_html/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 72
Warning: Trying to access array offset on false in /home/u249204778/domains/spectator.com.gh/public_html/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 72
&description=Don’t use polythene bags to store hot, oily foods', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
Ghanaians have been advised to refrain from putting hot or oily foods in plastic bags because it poses major health risks.
The warning states that storing hot foods in polythene bags, especially ones that are not made for food storage can cause dangerous chemicals to leak into the food, which could be dangerous for one’s health.
Professor Esther Sakyi-Dawson, an Associate Professor of Food Science at the University of Ghana, gave this warning at a World Food Safety Day celebration in Accra on Tuesday.
With the theme “Food Safety: Science in Action,” this year’s World Food Safety Day focused on the critical role that scientific knowledge plays in guaranteeing food safety and fostering confidence in the food supply.
According to Prof. Sakyi-Dawson, when plastics are heated, toxic substances can seep into the food, contaminating it and raising the risk of several chronic illnesses, including hormone imbalances, reproductive problems, and even some types of cancer, which are on the rise in the nation.
According to estimates from the World Health Organisation (WHO), food contamination causes over 400,000 deaths annually and 600 million foodborne illness cases.
Also, a third of all deaths worldwide are caused by foodborne illnesses, which affect at least 91 million people in Africa each year. Of these, 40 percent are in children under the age of five.
Given the concerning statistics, there is an urgent need to raise awareness that eating hot foods like banku, rice, waakye, or “koko” (porridge) wrapped in plastic is extremely harmful to one’s health.
It is more important to avoid putting food in black plastics, which are not food quality and are typically used for carrying items. Similarly, white polythene should not come into close contact with food.
Despite the warning, Ghanaians have been urged to watch out for food-grade plastics, which are frequently thick, to use for food packing and storage as needed
Since “to be forewarned is to be forearmed” The Spectator advises consumers to put their health first by making the appropriate choices about what they put into their bodies for their own safety.
Editorial
No life should be lost over allegations
Dear Editor,
The recent death of Nana Yaw, also known as Dinero/Terry, has left various communities deeply shaken over the circumstances under which a life was lost.
Reports suggest that he went missing after a phone transaction in Teshie and was later found dead. Allegations have circulated that he visited a female friend despite having a pregnant wife at home.
Even if such allegations were true, does that mean he deserved to die? The answer is no. Infidelity is a moral failing, but it is not a crime punishable by death. To suggest otherwise is to normalize violence and diminish the value of human life.
This tragedy should remind us of the urgent need for justice and accountability. His family especially his expectant wife deserves compassion, not judgment. As a community, we must reject victim‑blaming and focus on preventing such senseless losses in the future.
Nana Yaw’s death is not just a personal tragedy, it is a call to action.
We must demand thorough investigation, ensure those responsible are held accountable, and commit ourselves to building a society where disagreements and mistakes do not end in violence.
Princess Wonovi,
Dansoman
Editorial
Take quick action to rebuild Percheyire R/C Basic School
The situation at Percheyire R/C Basic School in the Yilo Krobo district is a warning concerning Ghana’s rural education facilities as pupils in Primary four through six are forced to learn inside a building of mud walls, worn-out roofing sheets, and rotting wooden pillars.
It is more than just an infrastructural shortfall. It indicates a fundamental failing of public safety and educational justice.
Every day, when pupils and teachers arrive at school, their safety is in danger because a school building has such fundamental flaws that it could collapse during a storm.
The classroom is now a hazard rather than a haven for learning for the 30 upper primary pupils and their teachers. A single extreme weather event could cause a mud construction to fall dangerously because it depends on makeshift timber pillars.
These children are routinely deprived of the instructional hours that the national curriculum promises them when the arrival of rain inevitably necessitates the suspension of classes to save lives, books, and furniture.
A deeper systemic problem is revealed when Rev. Elizabeth Korasare, a former teacher, reveals that this identical arrangement has not changed in 38 years.
Some proponents contend that local government institutions like the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the District Assembly are solely to blame for the main failure. Actual rehabilitation has been postponed due to administrative inactivity, despite official site visits and reports submitted by the school administration.
According to this viewpoint, there is a problem with the way emergency educational funds are allocated and prioritised when a community school is left in a dangerous condition for decades while waiting for budgetary allocations.
This point of view highlights the necessity of corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and public-private collaborations. When state machinery fails, supporters contend that combining corporate money with citizen mobilisation provides a more flexible way to replace deteriorating structures.
It is a pity that Percheyire R/C Basic School’s surrounding infrastructure worsens the school’s structural deterioration. Children travelling from nearby communities like Togodo are severely restricted in their access due to an inadequate road network.
When more than 60 school-aged children in a single nearby town are cut off from regular attendance due to distance and bad roads, the school’s capacity to raise the district is substantially limited. A contemporary classroom block will only be successful if students can get there safely.
The lives of Percheyire’s pupils and teachers are at risk, therefore the Spectator is pleading with the Yilo Krobo District Assembly and other interested parties to rebuild the primary block.




