GEORGETOWN: The Government Analyst Department (GAD) in conjunction with the Environmental Health Department in Region 5 (Mahaica/Berbice) has seized and destroyed over $100,000 worth of expired goods being offered for sale on the shelves of a supermarket in West Berbice.The recent raid at Shop Smart Supermarket at Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice found items whose shelf-life had expired as far back as 2013, an Environmental Health Department source disclosed.
The source said the sale of expired foodstuff may have been due to a failure by the owner of the business to carry out regular stocktaking exercises which would have allowed him to identify goods nearing the expiry date and taking them off the shelves.
The source said that the raid had been carried out after repeated complaints by consumers about being sold expired food products by the business place.
A customer had complained about feeling nauseated after purchasing and eating chocolate cookies from the supermarket.
She discovered the expiry date on the packet only after becoming nauseated, the source said.
During the raid a large quantity of expired products, namely lilac powdered milk, cooking oil, phulorie mix, Glow Spread butter and macaroni were seized and destroyed.
The proprietor of the supermarket was chided for failing to adhere to regular stocktaking exercises in order to identify and remove expired food products from the establishment.
The Government Analyst Department warned the proprietor to remove all expired products from its shelves or face closure.
