Court overrules FDA preliminary objection in bleaching cream case

An application by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) seeking to dismiss a writ filed by the Cosmetics Association of Ghana following a ban on some bleaching creams has been dismissed.

The FDA in a preliminary objection argued that the procedure used by the Cosmetics Association of Ghana was not in conformity with law.

The FDA had held that the association should have come with a judicial review application and not a writ.

An Accra High Court threw out the application by the FDA which was seeking to dismiss the entire suit filed by the Cosmetics Association of Ghana over a ban on some bleaching creams.

The FDA filed a preliminary application challenging the procedure by which the Cosmetics Association filed the application before the court.

Mr Justice Daniel Mensah in his ruling held that there was a legal precedent by the Supreme Court for the procedure adopted by the Cosmetics Association.

The Cosmetics Association of Ghana filed its suit after the FDA and the Ghana Standards Authority, placed a ban on the import and sale of skin care products containing hydroquinone in 2017.

The Association argued that members have for years have been importing skin care products containing hydroquinone, the chemical which prompted the ban, through the ports with approval from the two institutions after paying the appropriate fees.

Source: GNA