–raises concern over expired goods, counterfeit medical supplies being distributed locally

VICE- President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has issued a strong call for tighter enforcement and regulatory oversight in the face of growing concerns over counterfeit medical supplies and the distribution of expired food and beverages in Guyana.

Speaking during his weekly press conference on Thursday, Dr. Jagdeo, who’s also General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), expressed alarm at what he described as a dangerous trend threatening the health and safety of the population.

“Fake medical supplies and drugs coming into our country could immeasurably and irreparably harm a lot of our people,” Jagdeo warned.
“And they [the Government Analyst-Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD] need to really step up on this! This is a department that needs to really do much more work, and to enforce the laws.”

Citing personal experiences, the Vice-President said there have been cases of not only substandard medical products, but also food and beverages being sold past or near their expiration dates.
Even more troubling, he said, is the practise of criminally altering expiration dates to resell expired goods to unsuspecting consumers.

“We have food near expiration date that comes into this country; people are changing the expiration date,” he said.
“I’ve got personal experience with this, a lot of the beverages come in near expiration. Some suppliers buy them cheap, dump them on our people here, and then some of them illegally, criminally change the expiration date.”

Dr. Jagdeo threw his support behind recent media calls for stricter monitoring, stating that the situation demands decisive action.
He emphasised the need for much stronger enforcement from the GA-FDD.

“They need to take strong enforcement action… We need to do much more work in this regard,” he strressed.
Less than a year ago, the GA-FDD raised concerns through a public alert about the presence of counterfeit Ozempic on the market — a drug used for diabetes and weight loss that is not authorized for sale in Guyana.

Sections of the local media had reported that a knockoff of the popular drug was being imported and sourced in a manner that contradicted the law.
The GA-FDD’s mandate is to protect the health and well-being of consumers and enhance the competitiveness of industries regulated under the Food and Drug Act.

According to the Food and Drug Act of 1971 “any person who labels, packages, treats, processes, sells or advertises any food in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive or is likely create an erroneous impression regarding character, value. quantity, composition. merit or safety shall be guilty of an offence.”

The laws also state that a practitioner, a licensed drug manufacturer, a licensed drug importer under the direct control of a pharmacist, a pharmacist, or the GA-FDD — are permitted to import such pharmaceuticals/drugs like Ozempic.