The Government Analyst – Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD) this week issued yet another advisory on the possible health risks associated with the consumption of milk that does not comply with standards.
This comes against the backdrop of a disclosure that last month, the authorities had intercepted four containers of evaporated milk and condensed milk destined for the local market and had refused the cargo entry into the country.
In its release the GA-FDD said that the milk was refused entry since it was found to be “non-compliant with the prescribed standard as found in Regu-lations 13 & 14 Division 5 of the Food and Drug Regulations 1977 and the International Food Standard Codex STD for milk fat products.” In the cases of the banned milk consignments, the GA-FDD release said that “in all cases” the producers of the sub standard milk had substituted milk fat with “various forms of vegetable fat” which seriously compromised the nutritional value of the milk.
Director of the GA-FDD Marlan Cole had told this newspaper several times in recent months that the department had had only limited success in keeping illegal milk imports out of the country on account of its own staffing limitations and difficulties associated with securing the cooperation of other state agencies including the Customs and Trade Administration. Late last year Cole confirmed that his department had moved to stop quantities of sub-standard milk that had already been imported into Guyana either from reaching supermarket shelves or from being sold to consumers.
In the GA-FDD’s most recent release Cole said that success in halting the progress of the illegal milk at the port of entry “was made possible because of unprecedented support and cooperation received from the Guyana Revenue Authority (Customs Department).” That notwithstanding, the GA-FDD has listed for public information the brands refused entry under its latest health alert. These are Best Liat and Global sweetened condensed milk and Tastu evaporated creamer.
The release from the GA-FDD explains that the brands fail to meet the internationally prescribed standards which dictate that “milk shall contain no less than 25.0% milk solids and 7.5 % milk fat” and that condensed or sweetened condensed milk “shall contain no less than 28.0% milk solids and 8.0% milk fat.”
The GA-FDD has said in previous public statements that reduced fat milk can be nutritionally detrimental to the health of children under the age of two given that milk constitutes a large portion of their diet and is a major source of energy during this period of rapid growth. Nutritional information researched by this newspaper says that as the child grows older and relies less on milk as a source of energy and nutrients, reduced fat dairy products can be introduced more safely into their diets.
In the past Cole has also told this newspaper that the GA-FDD has been less successful than it hopes to be in persuading food importers to ensure compliance with the prescribed local and international Food and Drug Regulations standards. Illegal milk imports are known to be available on the black market, and in some instances on supermarket shelves. Significant price disparities between legally imported milk and illegal brands are responsible for the higher demand for illegal brands.
