Food, drugs, cosmetics not labelled in English will be refused entry

Govt warns importers, retailers

…actions will be taken countrywide to remove all such items from local market

The Government Analyst-Food & Drug Department (GA-FDD) is issuing a warning to importers, wholesalers, and retailers to discontinue the importation and the sale of food, drugs and cosmetics which are labelled in a foreign language.

The GA-FDD says the product labelled in Spanish (on the left) is unacceptable while the one on the right in English is

According to the GA-FDD Director, Marlon Cole, the Food and Drug Regulations of 1977 section 18 (15) stipulates that declarations made on labels of any food, drugs, cosmetics or medical devices must be in English; making it an offence to import, sell or distribute those foreign labelled articles on our local market.
“The Department is therefore urging importers to ensure that only items labelled in English or with English translation are imported and to immediately cease the importation and sale of same. This decision has become increasingly necessary because of the illegal practice of some importers tampering with labels, consumer complaints and observations made by the Department,” Cole said in a release.
He further stated that members of the National Food Safety and Control Committee were briefed at a statutory meeting held on December 12, 2017, of this malpractice; “hence enforcement actions will be taken countrywide to remove all foreign labelled food items from our local market.”
According to Cole, consumers are strongly advised to purchase items that are properly labelled in English.
The Department said it will be working in collaboration with the Guyana Revenue Authority, through its Customs Department to ensure only items that are labelled in English are released for sale on our local market.
“Foreign labelled items will be refused entry,” said the GA-FDD Director.