Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has found that 83.33 percent of branded turmeric products failed lead safety standards, far exceeding the 37.14 percent failure rate recorded for unbranded products, in a 2025 nationwide study.
The study tested 392 turmeric samples from open markets, retail shops, supermarkets and malls across multiple regions. Overall, 165 samples containing unsafe lead levels failed safety thresholds, representing a 42.09 percent total failure rate. Imported turmeric recorded a 55.56 percent failure rate against 41.78 percent for locally sourced products.
Greater-Accra reported the highest regional contamination, with 71 out of 84 samples failing at a rate of 84.53 percent. Central Region followed at 75 percent, Upper West at 63.64 percent and Bono at 60.53 percent. Eastern and Savannah Regions recorded zero failures among their tested samples.
Supermarkets and malls posted the sharpest finding in the report, with a 91.67 percent failure rate, the highest across all retail categories. Retail shops recorded 47.79 percent while open markets came in at 37.45 percent, upending the widespread belief that formally packaged and shelved products are inherently safer.
Lead is a toxic heavy metal whose exposure damages the brain, kidneys and nervous system, with children at particular risk of developmental harm.
The FDA has since revised its turmeric registration policy, announcing that “registration requirements for turmeric now include mandatory testing for lead.” The authority has ordered the recall of all implicated registered products, intensified nationwide sensitisation programmes and moved to tighten border controls and market surveillance for high-risk food imports.
