Consumers Advisory-Date Tampering (Extension of Shelf Life)
Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD), Press Release – Friday, October 12, 2018
The Government Analyst –Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD) wishes to advise consumers to pay closer attention to the expiry date on products sold on our local market in general, particularly those that are sold in supermarkets along the East Coast, East Bank, and West Coast Demerara areas.
The Department has conducted an Inspection exercise on 5th October, 2018 at a recently established supermarket on the East Coast Demerara, where the proprietor was discovered to be repackaging foods under insanitary conditions, selling expired foods and also tampering (extending the date mark on Condensed Milk products.)
Fifty-one (51) tins × 395g of Condensed Milk which had the date marks tampered with, were seized and removed from the premise. Criminal proceedings have been instituted against this proprietor in the East Demerara Magisterial District according to the Laws of Guyana Food and Drug Act Chapter 34:03 Section 35.
Part II (5) states ‘‘any person who sells an article of food that is unfit for human consumption or was manufactured, prepared, packaged or stored under the unsanitary condition is guilty of an offense’’.
Also Part II (6) Food and Drug Act Cap 34:03 of 1971 states that “Any person who labels, packages, treats, processes, sells or advertises any food in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive or is likely to create an erroneous impression regarding its character, value, quality, composition, merit or safety is guilty of an offense”.
In addition, members and representatives at our recently hosted National Food Safety and Control Committee meeting, held on October 9th, were briefed on this practice and were asked to take the necessary enforcement action in their respective regions/ areas.
Consumers are again asked to ensure that all items of food have a label, is English Translated and to ensure the dates are closely examined and not altered or tampered with.