MINISTER of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Mr. Manniram Prashad, has warned that his ministry will be clamping down on businesses trying to sell expired goods to consumers, following the unearthing of expired milk products at two service stations in the city.
Minister Prashad, speaking to the Guyana Chronicle yesterday, said that reports were made to the Consumers Affairs Division of his ministry about two gas stations in Georgetown regarding expired goods, and a subsequent investigation by the ministry’s Consumers Affairs Division found the reports to be accurate.
He said officials of the Food and Drug Department of the Ministry of Health, which has the overall responsibility for monitoring food and drugs, were informed about the matter, and they, upon investigation, discovered expired milk, which was immediately destroyed.
“The two gas stations were found in breach and the items were destroyed by the Food and Drug Department,” he told this newspaper.
Minister Prashad is advocating that stronger penalties should be imposed on businesses found guilty of such acts, since “innocent customers are being ripped-off and sub-standard and defective goods are being passed down to them.”
To this end, the minister will be introducing the Consumers Protection Bill within the next three months, in an effort to further ensure that stricter penalties will be enforced, including sentencing.
“So the Ministry is urging all consumers to be aware and to be alert,” Prashad cautioned.
He said expired items on the shelves can put the health of the nation at stake, and “we can’t have people paying their hard-earned money only to receive sub-standard goods”.
He is asking consumers to be alert and report any case through the ministry’s consumers’ hotline on telephone number 225-5858.