Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has issued an urgent nationwide alert ordering the public to immediately stop consuming a substance sold in Kumasi under the name “Sukudai,” after laboratory tests confirmed the product contains chloroform, a toxic industrial chemical banned from medical use worldwide due to its links to organ failure, cancer, and death.
In a public alert issued on Friday, March 13, 2026, the regulator confirmed the product is not registered with the authority and that laboratory analysis of samples collected from the Kumasi Metropolis found the substance to contain chloroform. The warning was signed by the FDA’s Chief Executive Officer and directed at all members of the public, healthcare providers, and market regulators across the country.
The alert followed a report by JoyNews that highlighted the product’s growing circulation and raised concerns about its safety. Public alarm had already intensified after videos circulating on social media showed the liquid dissolving Styrofoam plates, a reaction vendors were using to claim the product could “melt away” heart blockages or fat deposits in the body.
Scientists Debunk the ‘Cleansing’ Claim
Researchers at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) confirmed that chloroform acts as a potent solvent for polystyrene, the material used to produce Styrofoam, meaning the viral plate-melting demonstration was nothing more than a plastic-dissolving chemical reaction. The KNUST team described the vendors’ claims about cardiac cleansing as scientifically impossible and a dangerous marketing fabrication.
Earlier KNUST testing had identified the full range of toxic agents present in Sukudai. The Department of Pharmacology at KNUST found the concoction contains acetone, a solvent used in nail polish removers and paint thinners, as well as zinc chloride, a highly corrosive industrial chemical used in wood treatment and battery production, alongside ethanol. In acute toxicity tests, laboratory rats given low, medium, and high doses of the preparation all died within 24 hours.
A consultant nephrologist at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Professor Elliot Koranteng Tannor, said the burning sensation users feel after consuming Sukudai is likely what they misinterpret as a cleansing effect on the chest, but warned the corrosive nature of zinc chloride poses a serious risk of gastrointestinal damage. He added that his department had been recording unexplained kidney cases for some time and suspected drinks like Sukudai were contributing to the problem.
Sold in Secrecy, Popular in Zongos
Sukudai, known in Hausa as “Madara Sukudai,” has circulated in Kumasi communities for years, particularly in Zongo neighbourhoods and around vehicle repair shops, where it is often sold discreetly by traders of Nigerien or Ghanaian origin. The drink is especially popular among young men and is marketed as a remedy to clear blocked arteries or cleanse the heart.
National Security operatives launched an enforcement operation in Kumasi following the KNUST findings, arresting a trader in the Aboabo area who was suspected of supplying the chemicals used to produce the drink, after several weeks of surveillance. Ashanti Regional Deputy Security Coordinator Alhaji Njeh Abdallah Umar described the continued circulation of the substance as a national security concern, noting that those who sell the product routinely refuse to drink it themselves.
Prosecution Warning and How to Report
The FDA said it is working with the Ghana Police Service, the National Security Secretariat, and the media to educate the public and shut down the distribution network. Anyone found selling or distributing Sukudai or any other unregistered product faces arrest and prosecution.
The FDA also confirmed that this crackdown is part of a broader enforcement drive that includes a nationwide recall of alcoholic energy drinks containing stimulants such as caffeine and ginseng, with a compliance deadline of March 31, 2026.
Members of the public who come across Sukudai being sold are urged to report it through the FDA’s official website complaint section or by calling the authority’s hotlines on 0551112224 or 0551112225.
