The Government Analyst-Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD) has once again clamped down on local business for importing substandard food items from foreign countries. The Food and Drug Department has recently refused entry of four containers with assorted eatables imported by Faizal Asif Iqbal Alli from Canada.
This comes on the heels of several consumers’ complaints and many attempts by the Department’s inspectors to conduct inspections and locate several bonds operated by Alli. GA-FDD on Wednesday stated that the examining process which was carried out on October 25 and 30, 2019 and on November 1, 2019, revealed that some items were labelled with misleading information, expiry dates removed and extended with a date marking machine, while other products were removed from their original packaging and placed into bulks.
As a result of the findings, the GA-FDD has pledged to carry out urgent inspections at retail premises across Guyana since two of the containers bearing substandard items were electronically released from the port of entry without the Department’s consent or approval on November 1.
The Department is also expected to share details of the illegal practice with the Canadian Food Exporters Association, which attested to the wholesomeness of the products on a health certificate that was used to facilitate the trade of the items from Canada to Guyana. More information in this regard will be released at the Department’s National Food Safety and Control Committee Meeting (NFSCCM) on November 12, 2019.
Additionally, the Department said that it will file legal proceedings against Alli for deliberately facilitating the importation and release of substandard articles of food to be used by the general populace of Guyana.
Consumers and retailers are urged to double-check labels on products and ensure dates are not tampered with.
