Consumers warned of expiry date tampering to extend shelf life

…ECD supermarket owner charged

As the Government Analyst–Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD) continues efforts to clamp down on the unhealthy practice of inferior goods being sold on the local market, the Department is calling on consumers to pay closer attention to the expiry dates on products being sold, particularly in supermarkets along the East Coast, East Bank, and West Coast of Demerara.
In a statement on Friday, the Department said it conducted an Inspection exercise on October 5, 2018, at a recently established supermarket on the East Coast of Demerara, where the proprietor was discovered to be repackaging foods under insanitary conditions, selling expired foods and also tampering with expiration dates. This businessperson was found extending the date mark on Condensed

Milk products.
According to the GA-FDD, fifty-one 395g tins of Condensed Milk which had the date marks tampered with were seized and removed from the premise. These tins just had the manufactured date and the expiry date, whereas those products that were not tampered with carry a barcode along with the manufacture and expiry dates.
In additional, criminal proceedings have been instituted against the proprietor in question in the East Demerara Magisterial District in accordance with the laws of Guyana – Food and Drug Act Chapter 34:03 Section 35.
Under this law, 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 offence.”
Part II (6) Food and Drug Act Cap 34:03 of 1971 went on to outline 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 offence.”
Furthermore, the GA-FDD posited that members and representatives at its recently hosted National Food Safety and Control Committee meeting – held on October 9, 2018 – 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,” the Department warned.