THE Health Ministry’s Food and Drug department facilitated an awareness session targeting supermarket and point of sale operators at Regency Suites on Thursday where the discussions focused on sale regulations, quality assurance of commodities, storage facilities, repackaging requirements and requirements for retailing of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. While interacting with the participants of the session, Health Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, noted that their presence at the awareness session is an indication of their interest in the trajectory that Guyana has embarked on to facilitate development and modernization.
He pointed out that citizens procure items/supplies for their daily use at supermarkets therefore it is critical for those items to be safe and of a good quality.
The existing supermarkets are nothing like those that existed 20 years ago. This is marked by significant improvements to the facilities and the way services are provided which indicates the occurring developmental changes in Guyana.
The Minister indicated that the Food and Drug department, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Consumer Affairs Division of the Ministry of Tourism are working together to institute regulations to ensure safety. However, they alone cannot enforce the law. In this regard, much corporation is needed by all stakeholders.
It was emphasised that when offenders are found there is zero tolerance when enforcing the law since disregarding a commodity’s safety puts the consumer in danger.
The Minister pointed out that it is critical for the expiration dates to be observed and the origin of a product be clear on the label. He added that appropriate storage is also important while ensuring the environment is free of vectors and rodents.
Emphasis was also placed on supermarkets in Guyana collaborating to establish their own set of standards which are expected to work in tandem with those set by the relevant authorities.
Representative from the Tourism Ministry’s Consumer Affairs Division, Muriel Tinnis, noted that the existing regulations need to be strengthened. She identified several pitfalls which occur when buying and selling pharmaceuticals. These include the seeming disregard for expiration dates, selling medication loose, selling of redrawn drugs, forging trademarks, inappropriate labelling and improper storage, among others.
These factors must be taken into consideration to ensure the safety of consumers while contributing to improving the standard of living of all Guyanese. (GINA)