Angel Group of Companies, manufacturers of Adonko bitters, have said they will cooperate with the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), in investigations over a recent musical concert organized by them, that saw many youth pass out as a result of excessive drinking.
The company said it has reviewed all of its promotional strategies to avert a similar incident in the future.
[contextly_sidebar id=”yW7iE7KYC3L9Ox0rvUHMVQxxBet68SS4″]The Food and Drugs Authority last week slapped Angel Group of Companies with a GHs25,000 fine and ordered it to recall its Adonko bitters product for contravening its code on sale and advertisement of alcoholic beverages.
The Authority took the decision after preliminary investigations into circumstances that led to dozens of youth and minors passing out at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi after an Easter Monday concert organized by the company.
But the company in a statement copied to citifmonline.com, said the ban was not related to the quality of its product as that had already been certified by the FDA.
It explained that the concert was held to reward loyal consumers of the product over the past year.
It was reported that entry to the concert grounds was limited to persons who purchased the Adonko bitters product without age restrictions, but the company said it “produced special labels and batch numbers specifically for the event. The special labels were to encourage customers to keep the drinks as souvenirs.”
“Over 35,000 people attended the event and our preliminary investigations indicate that, whilst about 10 people may have been drunk/slept off no one passed out as per various speculations in traditional and social media,” it added.
The company stated that, it encouraged responsible consumption of alcohol in accordance with the country’s laws, and had no intentions of promoting drinking among minors.
“We respect the authority of the FDA and are of the belief that, they are working in the supreme interest of the public, and as such we are cooperating fully with their investigations and the directives issued to the company.”
“In the meantime, we will also like to apologize to people whose sensibilities may have been offended by the fallout and also for the distress this has caused our various stakeholders; local authorities, consumers, farmers, suppliers, distributors, and employees,” it said it its statement.
“The Management of the company has also with immediate effect reviewed all promotional strategies to forestall any such incident in the future,” the statement added.
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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana