The Environmental Health Department (EHD) of the New Amsterdam Municipality has seized a quantity of food items considered unsatisfactory for human consumption. The Department is continuously appealing to supermarkets and shop owners to desist from selling expired goods, while warning against the consequences of them being caught doing so.
Municipal Health Inspector Ackloo RamsudhSome of the expired items seized
Despite this a number of supermarkets and shops in the New Amsterdam Municipality continue to vend expired goods and this was brought to the limelight as the EHD seized a quantity of expired goods from supermarkets and shops in the town which is currently celebrating its 125 anniversary as a Municipality.
Among the items seized were drink mix, tomato ketchup, cake mix, chewing gum, biscuits and beverages.
Head of the Department, Municipal Health Inspector, Ackloo Ramsudh, stated that there is no schedule time of visits to businesses but from time to time all of them have been found with expired goods displayed for sale.
“I am appealing to business owners to check the date markings on items before they put it on the shelf for sale, they also need to check the condition of the packaging material; for example there are some packaging material which have rodent damaged, stained and some in dented cans, these are not things which are fit for human consumption and should not be displayed on shelves for sale to the consuming public,” Ramsudh declared.
According to Ramsudh, his team is working to rid the shelves of harmful items but he is appalled at the callous behaviour of some businesses in the township that are bent on breaking the law. He posited that they must have respect for themselves and the general public.
“Time and again officers from the department revisits particular outlets, and seize a number of expired goods on display with tampered labels,” he stated.
To this end, the health inspector is asking consumers to be alert and aware when making purchases and to scrutinise items they are purchasing.
“Ensure that you understand the date markings properly; these are the production date and the expiration date, ensure that they are not tampered with and also within the time specified. Every consumer has the right to thoroughly examine the products that he or she is purchasing and ask questions,” he added.
Moreover, the Municipal Health Inspector is also calling on the public to refuse to make purchases at those habitual law breakers’ places and report any case of expired items or goods to the municipality or other relevant authorities forthwith.
In recent times, the department has had to remove peanut butter, canned milk, biscuits, jam, mayonnaise and confectionery on shelves of shops and supermarkets that were beyond the expiry dates
