The Director-General of the Brussels based International Sweeteners Association (ISA), Mr. Laurent Oger, together with the Policy and Research Manager of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Mr. Theophilus Arthur-Mensah, has paid a working visit to the Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Prof. Agyei George, to discuss Ghana’s evolving food quality, nutrition and standards regulatory landscape.
The meeting, held at the GSA head office in Accra, forms part of AGI’s ongoing stakeholder engagement drive aimed at fostering constructive dialogue between industry and key regulators on policies affecting manufacturing, trade facilitation and consumer protection.
Discussions centered on gaining a deeper understanding of Ghana’s food quality and standards policy environment, emerging trends in nutrition policy, and how GSA, AGI and international partners can collaborate to support public health objectives while promoting responsible innovation, investment, competitiveness and sustainable economic growth.
Mr. Oger, who leads the International Sweeteners Association, the global voice of suppliers and users of low and no calorie sweeteners used the occasion to introduce ISA’s mandate and its contribution to global food systems transformation.
He explained that ISA works to provide science-based information on sweeteners, support sugar reduction and reformulation efforts, and contribute to the fight against diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
According to him, low/no calorie sweeteners are among the most thoroughly evaluated food ingredients in the world and have been confirmed safe for use by leading regulatory authorities including the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
He noted that Ghana, like many middle-income countries, is experiencing a nutrition transition, with rising cases of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and other NCDs. This, he said, requires a multi-stakeholder, balanced approach that empowers consumers with healthier choices, encourages industry reformulation, and is underpinned by credible science.
“Food reformulation with the help of low/no calorie sweeteners can be part of the solution in reducing sugar and calorie intake while maintaining taste and product quality. Our role is to ensure regulators and industry have access to robust scientific evidence and global best practices to inform policy decisions.”
Mr. Oger
ISA Pledges Technical Support for Ghana’s Sugar Reduction and Food Labelling Drive
He stressed that ISA was ready to support Ghanaian authorities and local manufacturers with technical expertise, scientific dossiers and capacity building to inform evidence-based policy making around sugar reduction, sweeteners use and food labelling.
For his part, Mr. Theophilus Arthur-Mensah said AGI initiated the engagement as part of its advocacy role to ensure that the voice of the private sector is heard in the formulation of policies that directly impact industry operations and viability.
He explained that members of AGI in the food and beverage sector contribute significantly to employment, tax revenue and food security, but operate in a highly regulated environment where changes in standards, labelling thresholds, and nutrition benchmarks can have far-reaching implications for product portfolios, production costs and investment decisions.
“AGI’s interest is to ensure that as Ghana develops its food and nutrition related policies, industry is at the table, and that policies are grounded in science, risk assessment, proportionality and international best practice. We want to support public health outcomes, but we also want to sustain jobs, attract investment and promote industrial growth.”
Mr. Mensah
He added that policy predictability and regulatory coherence between agencies such as GSA, Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), and the Ministry of Health are crucial to enable industry to plan long-term and to innovate responsibly.
Welcoming the delegation, the Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority, Prof. Agyei George, commended AGI and ISA for the proactive engagement, describing it as timely and aligned with GSA’s renewed focus on stakeholder collaboration.
Prof. Agyei assured the delegation of GSA’s openness to new ideas, innovation and partnerships in standardization, particularly in the food and drugs sector which is central to consumer safety and public confidence.
GSA to Work with FDA to Ensure Food Safety
He clarified that while the direct regulation of sweeteners and food additives does not fall directly within GSA’s core mandate which primarily focuses on the development, publication and enforcement of standards, as well as conformity assessment through testing, inspection and certification the Authority plays a critical collaborative role in the national food safety architecture alongside the FDA, which is the principal regulator for food safety.
“GSA is willing to take on new ideas and innovation in standardisation. We are ready to listen and to work with all stakeholders to ensure that standards in Ghana reflect both consumer protection and the need to support industry growth and innovation.”
Prof. Agyei
He disclosed that GSA is currently undertaking internal reforms to modernize its operations, digitize its services, and deepen engagement with the private sector to ensure that Ghana’s standards remain relevant, practical, enforceable and aligned with international norms including Codex Aliment Arius standards.
The GSA boss also emphasized the need for continuous consumer education to enable the public to make informed choices about nutrition and healthy lifestyles, adding that standards development must go hand-in-hand with public awareness.
The meeting ended with a mutual commitment by all parties to sustain dialogue and explore concrete areas of technical cooperation, including information and data sharing, joint stakeholder consultations, and capacity building for technical officers on global developments in food standards, sweeteners safety evaluation and nutrition policy.
