BY THE 1990s Guyana had adopted the Free Market and Globalization which were promoted throughout the Western World as being the most successful way in which a country’s economic life could be structured.  Both theories advocated free imports from any part of the world as well as the abolition of all currency controls and Guyana has been conducting its economic life in accordance with these doctrines.

This has led to goods from all parts of the world being imported into the Guyana market resulting in a great number of substandard goods being sold everywhere.  This situation contrasts with a few decades previously when the overwhelming majority of imported consumer goods derived from Western countries which had strong national and manufacturing standards.  Most goods had well-known brand names and were properly labelled and consumers used them with confidence.

Now, the consumer must be careful to read labels and carefully examine goods being purchased, especially foodstuffs, drugs and toiletries.  This situation puts an added inspection burden on the Food and Drugs Department, the National Bureau of Standards and Consumer Protection bodies.  Many of these substandard foods, drugs and toiletries are injurious to health.

Of recent weeks, the Food and Drugs Department under its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Marlon Cole, has been able to prevent the entry into the Guyana market of a shipment of tuna from China where the producer tried to deceive consumers by using a name which could easily be confused with “Brunswick” a well-known North American producer.
This tuna could easily have deceived the unsuspecting Guyanese consumer.  Then there was the banning of condensed milk from Malaysia – a vegetable product trying to pass itself as a diary product.  Brazilian meat imports were temporarily banned in several countries owing to health fears and this resulted in the accumulation of massive quantities of unsold meat which became spoilt.

Some manufacturers, including some well-known brand names like Friboi and Swift were using the spoilt meat to make sausages for the export market, some of which was imported into Guyana.  The Brazilian government was able to track down the offending manufacturers and informed Guyana.  The Food and Drugs Department was able to take immediate action.  Had that sausage entered Guyana, it would very likely have been used by fast-food restaurants.

Other examples of substandard foods brought into the country are mints from Holland with far too much menthol that could damage one’s stomach, pastas of the lowest grade from Korea and “olive oil”, 80% of which was soya oil, from Brazil.
A major danger of these substandard food imports lies in the poor hygienic conditions in which they are produced and in the case of canned foods, they often contain ingredients other than what they purport to be, as for example, bits of shark or pork in fish.  They often have no expiry date.  These substandard foods could be very harmful to health.

The same position occurs in toiletries.  Some years ago, in Panama, at least 200 people were known to have died from using a tooth paste exported from China.  Also from China to Guyana and the rest of the Caribbean was “Colgate tooth paste” packed exactly like the genuine Colgate.  The fraud was uncovered by the box stating that place of manufacture was South Africa when Colgate did not have any factory in that country.  Or cheap lip-stick which damage the skin of the user’s lips.

Drug imports are beset with even more problems.  The drugs produced by the six or eight multi-nationals such as Glaxo, Novartis and Pfifer are  probably the only drugs one could use with full confidence.  Drugs sourced from the developed countries are not necessarily safe or of good quality.  Some years ago, for example, a supplier from Hamburg, Germany had secured a great part of the Guyana market for certain drugs, until the Bureau of Standards, having received many complaints of the quality of their drugs, did some research into the Company.

They found that the Company did not manufacture any drug but instead had unauthorized low-grade Third World producers making the drugs for them which they labelled as if they were German-made.  The Bureau had imports from that company immediately banned.  Recognized Indian companies have been producing top-of-the line generics which are sold all over the world including Europe and North America.
All the big multi-national drug companies are established in India and an Indian-produced Vicks or Dettol is the same as the Western-produced, except it may be less expensive.  Indian drugs imported into Guyana are from the reputable companies.

Though the Bureau of Standards, the Food and Drugs and the Consumer bodies do their best to protect the public from substandard imports, they are all under-funded and could only do a limited amount of regulating and policing.  The onus rests on the consumer to protect himself or herself.  In protecting one’s self, one has to read labels thoroughly looking for country of production, ingredients, measures, expiry dates and be sure that instructions are clear and labels are written in English.  Also, one must physically examine the product and ascertain it is the same as one had used before.  If any of these requirements is absent, then do not purchase the product.  One may also alert the consumer protection bodies who would take immediate action so as to help other unsuspecting consumers from being victims of substandard goods.   .