Alcohol Manufacturers Association backs FDA’s sanction of the Angel Group
The Association of Alcohol Manufacturers and Importers (AAMI) has lauded the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) for sanctioning the Angel Group of Companies, the manufacturer of the alcoholic beverage Adonko Bitters, for breaching the guidelines of the authority.
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The FDA ordered the company to recall its products for breaching the authority’s guidelines on advertising alcoholic products during a concert that the beverage manufacturer organised in Kumasi on Easter Monday.
Some of the patrons at the concert were reported to have passed out after excessively drinking Adonko Bitters.
The FDA, in its letter to the company, said the group contravened the authority’s guidelines after it made the purchase of Adonko Bitters a prerequisite for gaining access to the concert grounds.
‘‘No alcoholic beverage shall be advertised in relation to a public function where persons under the legal drinking age are likely to attend,’ the FDA said in the letter and subsequently slapped a GH¢25,000 fine on the company.
Appreciation
The AAMI statement in support of the FDA’s action, which was signed by its Chairperson, Ms Adjoba Kyiamah, said the association was pleased with the authority’s swift response to the said boozing spree incident.
“Members of the association are pleased to note the FDA announcement in the media that it had investigated the incident and was taking action against the offender. The AAMI appreciates the role of the FDA as gatekeepers and so it is a relief to see that the FDA bites, in addition to its bark,’’ it said.
It added that although the Angel Group was not a member of the AAMI, the association was concerned about the negative publicity the incident generated, saying there was the “need for alcoholic beverage manufacturers and importers to demonstrate responsibility to their consumers and society as a whole’’.
The statement further explained that the association had adopted a code of commercial communications to regulate the advertising of their members’ brands.
Such a code, it said, ensured that “members maintain the highest standards in all their commercial communications, including advertising in the print and the electronic media, packaging, merchandising, consumer promotions, product placement, point of sale information, sponsorship and research”.