Authority plans to register 800 meds
The Food, Medicine and Health Care Administration and Control Authority (FMHACA) has ceded its duties to the Ministry of Health, except for the control of food and medicine.
This is being done after several studies leading the Ministry of Health to retake over its responsibilities.
“Staff of the health centers and the professional control section will be transferred to the ministry of health,” said Samson Abraham, the public relations director at the ministry.
The agency also announced plans to register 400 additional medicines bringing the total of registered meds to 800.
“The registration, which is going to double the type of medicines registered, is going to solve the shortage of medicines in the country and reduce the price” said Ayalsew Melese of the Authority.
The upcoming control will focus on packed food and children’s milk powder and other sensitive items. “We are going to improve our laboratory,” he said.
The authority will work closely with the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority (ERCA), regional police and other bodies to improve control over the quality of food and medicine to improve laboratories which it says is a vital task.
The authority, during the same press conference, talked about a fake story circulating on social media concerning Rani Juice. They said Rani Juice was not totally poisoned but had received a complaint about a color change on one liter of mango juice.
The authority said that it has prohibited the entrance of any products from Aujan Coca-Cola Beverages Company (ACCBC) since July 31, 2018.
Rani Refreshments (RR) and ACCBC were established in 2012 after a partnership between The Coca-Cola Company and Aujan Industries.
The authority has banned the entrance of the products because the company failed to provide documents.
The investigation started ten months ago when an individual approached the authority after witnessing a dark color instead of the expected orange.
After the compliant, the authority banned the reported type of juice.
After the first product was banned the authorities held a series of talks with the production company to justify the changes. After the representative of the company returned back home and after it supplied certain documents it suddenly stopped sending other required ones needed for analysis.
“The company of course reached us and supplied the documents afterwards but the ban is still there until we understand the problem,” said Ayalsew.
