Regulatory body denies Lailac Infant Milk still being sold locally

Government Analyst-Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD) Director Marlan Cole has denied that the Lailac Infant Milk is still on the market, stating there is a more rigid integrated system to monitor and confiscate substandard food imports.

A source has disclosed that the Customs Department responsible for ports of entry has been clearing large amounts of substandard infant milk at different wharfs. Representatives from the Customs Department have indicated that they could not clear any food, drugs or cosmetics without the consent of the GA-FDD.

However, Cole, at a seminar on Tuesday for customs officers working at various ports of entry, stated that there should not be any Lailac Infant Milk on the market. He stated that the Food and Drug Department had addressed the issue of substandard items being cleared at the wharfs some 15 to 12 months ago.

“If a document doesn’t have a full grade inspection stamp and it goes to the wharf, then it doesn’t get released. We have been working in collaboration with the Customs Unit and a decision was taken to state that every entry of food must only be released from the wharf if it has a release stamp by the Department and I believe to some measure, that initiative has been enforced,” Cole said, adding that their only constraint was limited human resources to be dispatched to the various ports of entry.

“We want to ensure that most, if not all, of the things coming off the wharf be granted approval by the Food and Drug Department,” he said. Notably, Cole mentioned that only 200 out of 600 importers are registered with the GA-FDD. Therefore, he stated that the purpose of the seminar is to sensitise officers on the function and responsibility of the Food and Drug Department and other regulatory mechanisms with the aim of safeguarding the health and well-being of the consumers.

Cole stated that Food and Drug inspectors have the authority to check any shipment and/or confiscate the items. “We can enter, examine and demand information…this is not something that has recently been plotted out, but it is there in the laws of Guyana,” he explained.

The GA-FDD had challenged the quality of the infant milk imported by the International Pharmaceutical Agency (IPA) under the trade name, Lailac. The Department had contended that the milk produced by a French company does not actually include milk that could be considered infant milk.

The presence of vegetable oils that is used to replace milk fat was one controversial issue. The Department had said that it has no information on the vegetable oil used in the imported milk and the Materials Management Unit of the Public Health Ministry had complained about defective batches of the LAILAC milk.

However, the IPA is refuting the allegation that it is importing substandard milk. Nevertheless, Cole on Tuesday stated that any food product entering Guyana should be subjected to regulatory oversight in that the product should be sold in the country that is manufacturing it. This was not the case with the infant milk being imported from France and sold on the local Guyanese market.

Cole stated that customs officers should start demanding to see the free sales certificate or the health certificate for imported products. “You have to ensure that you have the prescribed documentation,” the GA-FDD Director said, adding that importers, on the other hand, should have a storage bond.

Meanwhile, he highlighted that there were many counterfeit perfumes and cologne on the market, for which “after two sprays and half an hour gone, the scent gone”.

“If we want to stop substandard market of cosmetics, we have to demand the certificates,” he said.

He stressed that if any exporter knowingly sells substandard products to importers, that importer can report that company to the World Trade Organisation, which would not only cause damage to the company’s reputation but also to the country’s reputation.