Bel Beverages, the producers of Bel Aqua, Bel Ice and other beverages has landed in deep trouble with the Food and Drugs Authority.
A public-spirited individual by name Samuel Bempong has caused his lawyers to write to the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) for use of minors in advertising Bel Ice, an alcoholic drink produced by Bel Beverages.
Our sources close to the FDA stated that the complainant saw the said advert on social media.
The complainant alleged among others that he chanced on the advert which has been widely circulated by Bel Beverages and their agents on Instagram and tiktok. The complainant went further to state that a popular social media influencer known as Yeboah Danita Akosua Adomaah known in entertainment cycles as Afronita was seen in the advert promoting and marketing bel Ice, an alcoholic product together with the minor.
According to the complainant in a letter dated 19th January, 2024, written on his behalf by lawyer Nana Kofi Bekoe from Dzaisu, Eshun & Partners Legal Consult, he is motivated to report the matter to the FDA due to the fact that it is unconscionable and repugnant for children to be dragged into the arena of alcoholic advertising.
It will be recalled that the FDA as part of its measures to sanitize the advertising of food and beverages issued guidelines which banned the advertising of alcoholic beverages before 8:00pm.
These measures were taken to prevent minors from watching alcoholic adverts who the FDA believed will be asleep before 8:00pm.
In similar vein, the FDA banned celebrities from advertising alcoholic beverages, a measure which is been fiercely contested at the Supreme Court.
