Bioko Treats CEO: Regulate chocolate training institutions to ensure high standards
Jeanne Donkoh argues enforcing standards will ensure the products from Ghana meet demands and standards of international market
- "I don’t know who the regulatory framework is, but I think that the accreditation people, the Food and Drugs Board or the Standards Authority, have to be able to enforce because, we want to be able to say Ghana makes a world class chocolate because people who come out of their schools are world class. I think we are a long way from it."
Jeanne Donkoh, founder and chief executive of Bioko Treats, wants chocolate training institutions in Ghana to be effectively regulated.
According to her, the move is to ensure that locally produced chocolate and confectionaries meet international standards.
Speaking in an interview with Nana Yaa Mensah on Sunday Night, the CEO of Bioko Treats called on the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) to step in to help bring some sanity in the sector.
“I think that there is some sort of school here and I have seen online all sorts of people popping up and saying they are training,” she said, adding: “I haven’t taken any of those classes so really I can’t comment on that, but I think that it is important the regulatory framework works to make sure that if you are going to call yourself a trainer or a chocolate school, you have the requisite knowledge and facilities to train.”
Donkoh added: “I don’t know who the regulatory framework is, but I think that the accreditation people, the Food and Drugs Board or the Standards Authority, have to be able to enforce because, we want to be able to say Ghana makes a world class chocolate because people who come out of their schools are world class. I think we are a long way from it.”
Standards of international market
She argued that enforcing standards among chocolate training institutions will ensure the products from Ghana meet demands and standards of international market.
“There is a standard, are we keeping to the standards and guidelines? What makes you think you can train somebody in chocolate if you are not certified,” she stated.
“If you are going to sell it outside, the person buying it must be confident that what I am buying comes from Ghana and it is of standard,” Donkoh stressed.
She wants government to help coordinate the activities of players in the sector to bring some harmonisation in their activities.
Stay tuned to Asaase Radio throughout the month of February as we bring you reports, documentaries and insightful interviews on personalities and developments in the cocoa sector as part of our month-long celebration of chocolate: the Cocoa Affair.
Fred Dzakpata
* Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online.
Follow us on Twitter: @asaaseradio99
