The director general of the Food Safety and Quality Authority (FSQA) has disclosed that his institution destroyed 903 tons of confiscated food items in 2023.
DG Mamadou Bah made the disclosure during a Tuesday press briefing at the FSQA headquarters in Bakau.
“Between 2023 and 2024, FSQA conducted 10,592 food safety inspections nationwide. A total of 5,971 in 2023 and 4621 in 2024, due largely to increase compliance and the adoption of risk-based inspection systems.
He added that from 2023 to 2024, the FSQA recorded 456 confiscation cases, resulting in destruction of 1069.14 tons of unsafe food items.
However he noted that 2023 was the worst of all, saying: “Notably, 2023 marked the highest year of confiscations with 903 tons destroyed, reflecting intensified enforcement efforts.
“In addition, FSQA ordered 46 business closures and issued 210 improvement notices to non-compliant food operators between 2022 and 2023.”
