The Food Safety Department of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council is cautioning parents to verify the expiry dates on the containers of popular snack foods and drinks before making purchases and to resist the temptation to knowingly purchase expired items at reduced prices to fill children’s lunch kits.
The warning comes amidst concerns that some unscrupulous retailers may have already released stocks of expired snacks and beverages onto the market ahead of that start of the new school year on September 2.
This newspaper has learnt that a number of vendors in the city may be offering snacks and beverages which have either expired or have a limited remaining shelf life at significantly reduced prices.
“We are asking parents not only to decline these offers but also to bring the practice to the attention of the authorities,” Acting Assistant Chief Meat and Food Inspector at the municipality’s Food Safety Department Deonarine Arjune told Stabroek Business earlier this week. The food safety official told Stabroek Business that his department was also concerned that deficiencies in the public education process “may even mean that some parents may not be sure about where to look for expiry dates on the items that they purchase.”
While Arjune said that he was unable to confirm reports that the expired snacks and drinks could flood the market during the two weeks remaining before the start of the new school year, distributors with whom this newspaper spoke said that there is a likelihood that some amount of expired snack foods and beverages are already in circulation. One of the major distributors of imported snack foods told Stabroek Business that reduced purchases of these items resulting from limited consumer spending has meant that significant quantities of these items have been returned to the
distributors. He said that while he was aware of arrangements with large wholesalers and retailers to have expired or near expired snack foods removed from supermarket shelves and returned to the distributors, he was less certain about the practices of the smaller retailers and vendors. The distributor explained that relationships between major distribution agencies and larger wholesalers and retailers involved the recruitment by the distributor of merchandisers who are assigned to supermarkets and other large outlets and who are responsible for “managing” stocks offered by the distributors. “The job of the merchandiser is to ensure the flow of goods to the shelves in a manner that ensures that the stocks that enter the supermarket first, leave first. That way you reduce the danger of expired or near-expired stocks remaining unsold. Of course, in cases where stocks expire prior to being sold, those are returned to the distributor.”
Another distributor showed Stabroek Business several slips reflecting refunds made to shops in Berbice, Georgetown and other areas for expired snack foods that had been removed from stores and returned. He said that while he believed that items should be routinely checked for expiry dates, wherever these are purchased, particular caution should be exercised in those cases where the distributor may not be directly responsible for sale to the retailer and where there is no merchandiser in place to ensure that expired goods are not offered for sale.
Arjune told Stabroek Business that the Food Safety Department was aware that some outlets place expired or near expired snack foods in special shelves and offer them for sale at recued prices. “We remove those items whenever we discover them,” he said.
Meanwhile, Arjune told Stabroek Business that the Food Safety Department was concerned that the limited ability of the Food and Drugs Analyst Department to police food imports may be responsible for the importation of foods that arrive in the country close to the expiry date. He said that he believed that that department, like the Food Safety Department lacked the manpower to ensure that goods imported into the country had a sufficient shelf life to allow for them to be held in stock for a period before their shelf-lives come to an end.
Another distributor with whom this newspaper spoke said that the proliferation of expired food items on the local market was due in large measure to what he described as “the powerlessness” of the enforcement agencies. “In the case of the Food and Drug Analyst Department I do not get the impression that they have anywhere near enough resources to do what the law requires them to do.” When Stabroek Business sought a comment from the Food and Drug Analyst Department we were told that Agency Head Marilyn Collins was on vacation and that the Ministry of Health had instructed that no comment be made on the matter.
Meanwhile, Arjune told Stabroek Business that the Food Safety Department was also concerned that owners and operators of canteens in schools across the country be mindful of the various food safety regulations and that they ensure that their Food Handler’s Certificates are valid. The Ministry of Education has a written policy in relation to the operation of school canteens which require the setting up of canteen committees that include teachers and parents and which allow for periodic inspections of the premises.
