List of approved water facilities to be announced soon – GA-FDD

Following an assessment conducted in Georgetown earlier this year, where 11 of 29 water facilities were found to be unlicensed and non-compliant with the laws governing the Government Analyst Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD), the body is preparing to release to the public, a list of water processors who are compliant to ensure safety among customers.
Head of the Department, Marlon Cole on Monday spoke withGuyana Times, where he made the announcement. According to Cole, the official list will be presented some time during the week.
During a recent interview, Cole said, “We are working with them and we are encouraging them to ensure that they bring in their applications and the necessary paper work so that they can be licensed for 2018”.
He pointed out that the GA-FDD will be ensuring regular inspections are conducted on the water processing businesses to ensure they are complying with the laws.
According to him, those businesses should have been fully compliant and licensed by March of this year, however the Department has extended this time until October of 2018.
He noted that all water businesses, including those out of the city will be expected to be licensed on or before this time.
“Officers in the outlying regions will conduct the necessary inspections at the water businesses and will bring samples as well,” Cole asserted.
Based on the findings of the six-month long assessment, which concluded back in August, some 11 water processing facilities were found to be incompliant with the laws while operating without the necessary License from the Department.
According to the GA-FDD, the samples were analysed for microbiological and chemical parameters to verify compliance with safety requirements. Of the 29 facilities that samples were taken from, 11 were found to be operating without the necessary license from the department. Of the 87 samples submitted for analysis, 15 or 17 per cent were found to be unsatisfactory.
Due to this, the department has been urging consumers to be cautious and to request a valid licence from water processing factories who retail five-gallon proportions and to furthermore ensure the bottles are properly labelled and sealed before purchase as well as report any company that fails to comply with the Department’s requirements as it relates to the sale of treated water.
In an effort to ensure proper health amongst the citizens, the GA-FDD has vowed to repeat such exercises.
The department is also appealing on the water distribution companies to comply with its requirements or face the penalty of being closed down.
It said that manufacturers and distributors must have a valid licence, issued by this Department and is an indicator of their compliance to Good Manufacturing Practices; also bottles used must be properly cleaned, sanitised, labelled and sealed. No funnel should be used to transfer water to bottles prior to sale and/or distribution.