IPA rushes to take back “milk” after threats of Police involvement

Recalled LAILAC infant “milk”

Responding to threats of possible Police involvement, the International Pharmaceutical Agency (IPA) on Monday finally began removing stocks of the banned LAILAC milk powder, a substitute infant milk product from stores across the country.

The company’s Chief Executive Officer on Tuesday told Guyana Times that he was not prepared to have any Police issue tarnish the company’s reutation, but did promise that every effort will be made to have the product back on track.

“We are going to be complying with the recall by the Government Analyst. It is the law and we have to comply. We are going to make all necessary steps to put it back on the shelf.”

“In February, they tell us the milk should not be advertised. We went and removed all advertisement; we showed them the World Health Organisation (WHO) act which says that a country must use all discretionary measures to advertise it. There is no law that says you cannot advertise substitute. Then they say that this milk is not labelled properly, we had baby milk instead of baby formula. We said ok, we will make the necessary steps to make the change. When they said they don’t see the manufacturing company, we showed them that on the label. Then they said we have no certificate of analysis, we produced that, now they are saying that the laws of Guyana say that the milk is not sold in France and it cannot be sold here,” Singh told Guyana Times.

He said the company has decided to recall the milk and await pending decisions it has with the company in France.

Asked if he has had any discussions with the Government Analyst-Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD) and/or Government, Singh said “no one wants to have a discussion. It is so unfortunate.”Milk c

“What happen is the head of F&DD wanted this milk off the market for whatever reason I don’t know, but the milk was affecting the sale of high value milk. This is milk for the poor people and I am hoping that the Minister addresses the issue. This is milk that we have sold thousands of tins per week and it means that the poor people are using it… said it is sold in Africa, Middle East and the Caribbean, I don’t see why it cannot be sold in Guyana,” he said.

Meanwhile, the GA-FDD and the Consumer Affairs Bureau have come under heavy criticism for failing to enforce the regulation immediately, after the issue came to light.

Although the issue has been brewing for some time now, and the eventful refusal of IPA to adhere to an order by Government, critics say much is left to be desired from these agencies that have been tasked with looking into the health and wellness of consumers across the country.

Public Health Minister, Dr George Norton on Sunday said the recalled product did not meet the country’s required standard, and as such, was inappropriate to have it on the shelves of businesses.

Dr Norton had also expressed disappointment in the Analyst-Food and Drug Department for not moving sooner to seize the milk from the shelves of retail and wholesale entities.

“It could be that the company brought in the milk some time ago, probably sold it to supermarkets and the supermarkets continue to display it so that they don’t make a loss. What I know that can be done is the Food and Drug Department can literally go and seize these products. I don’t know why they’re not doing it, he had told Guyana Times.

The GA-FDD in early February 2016, issued a recall for the LAILAC infant milk; however, more than six weeks after the recall deadline of March 22, the product remained on the shelves of numerous retail and wholesale outlets.

The IPA had persistently disregarded the GA-FDD’s instructions contending that LAILAC infant milk is a milk-based baby formula.

The recall by GA-FDD was issued on two grounds – the product’s noncompliance with Food and Drug Regulation (12) of 1977, which prohibits distributing a product in Guyana that is not distributed in its country of origin. GA-FDD Director Marlon Cole was quoted in other sections of the media as saying that LAILAC was not and could not possibly be sold in France as milk.

The other reason for the recall was based on conclusions after reading the product’s label which showed that the product is labelled infant milk although in the production process non-specified ‘vegetable oils’ were used to replace milk fat.

According to the GA-FDD, in making the product as close as possible to “mother’s milk”, unless specific vegetable oils were added to the cow milk-based substance, when digested by infants, the formula can prove to be dangerous since the fatty acids in the triglycerides produced influence their function negatively.

The IPA has admitted its LAILAC product was not sold in France, the country of origin but only in the Third World countries. The IPA continues to argue that the product is being distributed in France, but under a different brand.