Importer backpedals on legal action against Food and Drug Dep’t

Food importer Aizal Asif Iqbal Alli has signalled his intention to withdraw legal proceedings against the Government Analyst-Food and Drug Department (GAFDD) for stating that the businessman had imported and disseminated substandard food items, according to Director Marlan Cole.

Cole also says that “several containers for the named importer are currently at the city wharf, and the public is assured that detailed examination will be exacted on all his containers for compliance, before entry is allowed or facilitated.”

These developments were shared by Cole via a press release issued to the media.

It is uncertain whether the containers alluded to include or are in addition to the containers which were held previously.

Earlier in the month the GA-FDD had denied entry to four containers of food items that were imported by Alli from Canada. The GA-FDD said that the containers were refused entry because the food items that they contained were substandard and were housed in packaging whose labels, including expiry dates, were tampered with.

Withdrawn

Following GA-FDD’s claims, Anil Nandlall, legal counsel for Alli, had written to the GA-FDD and suggested that legal action would follow if the matter was not rectified before Alli suffered any financial loss from his goods being detained.

In the press release, Cole told the media that the GAFDD was in receipt “of an official communication from the office of Mohabir. A. Nandlall & Associates, the legal counsel for the importer, signalling their intention to withdraw legal proceedings against the GA-FDD as previously stated publicly after the department would have exposed the importer’s malfeasance”.

The GA-FDD had said that detailed examinations and sampling of the containers, carried out on October 25th, 2019, revealed that expiry dates were deliberately removed and extended with a date marking machine; the damaged area on boxes where the original date was removed were concealed using a sticker bearing a Canadian flag; some products were deliberately removed from the original container or packages and placed into bulk containers void of labelling details, all suspected to be expired or short dated; expiry dates were removed on other products and extended using a date marking machine; most, if not all items of food were close-dated with less than 75% of the shelf life remaining before importation; and some items were labelled with misleading information, e.g. Acetic Acid which was labelled as “White Vinegar”.

Nandlall, in this letter, had said that Alli “…categorically denies each and every allegation which you have made against him and the products which he has imported.” Nandlall had also said that the allegations were not only levelled against Alli but also leading international companies as well as two public authorities, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada.

Nandlall also said that Alli offered to hire an international food analyst to analyse the food items in the presence of GA-FDD officials, while demanding the release of food items not found to be objectionable, including perishables with an approximate market-value of $40 million.

However, on November 13th, 2019, Stabroek News reported that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) denied involvement in certifying the goods that were denied entry.

In a statement to Stabroek News, the agency had said “The CFIA investigated and can confirm that the certificate was not issued by the CFIA. The Canadian company identified on the certificate is not licensed by the CFIA and is not authorized to receive export certificates from the CFIA”.

The agency also said that the document which accompanied the shipment is a Manufacturer’s Declaration which CFIA stopped using as of January 15, 2019, and that the inspector who signed the certificate is not employed with it.

The withdrawal of the legal proceedings, Cole mentioned, comes on the heels of this declaration.

Tracking down substandard foods

Cole had lamented the fact that two of the four containers which were initially held had been released by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) in breach of a working agreement shared by the State entities.

Consequently, Cole pointed out, the content of these containers were disseminated to various operators.

In the press release, Cole said “visits were made by officers from the department to markets and supermarkets in Georgetown where only a few items were located and seized.” He said that “communication is ongoing with inspectors in outlying regions to enhance surveillance for the identified products.”

Regarding its cooperation with GRA, Cole reported that the GA-FDD is “…currently enjoying full support and collaboration from the GRA’s Customs Department” and they have collectively put systems in place to selectively flag importers of known defaulters in the Customs ASYCUDA system, since this act of extending shelf life was perpetrated before in June of 2016.”

The GA-FDD also appealed to importers to ensure that the correct documentation, channels and agencies are utilised for the importation processes. Cole added that “stringent measures are being implemented to increase our oversight and to eliminate these practices that may result in the release of substandard items on our market.”