Retailer arrested as Food and Drug Dept. seizes expired Colgate toothpaste from Bourda, La Penitence Markets

The Government Analyst – Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD) on Wednesday said the Police has arrested one retailer for knowingly and deliberately selling an expired product to unsuspecting consumers.

Criminal charges will be filed against any retailers and wholesalers / distributors under the Public Health Ordinance CAP 145 Section 99 and the Food and Drug Act CAP 34:03 Section 14(b).

The Department has also seized and removed an undisclosed amount of expired products from several retail outlets in Georgetown including the Bourda and La Penitence Markets and the Stabroek Bazaar.
Similar exercises are being conducted in Regions Two, Three, Six, Eight and Ten.

The Department has alerted consumers to the circulation of Colgate Toothpaste which has expired since October 2002 and is being sold at a significantly reduced price.

In a statement the Food and Drug Department said that the practice was brought to the Department’s attention by way of a consumer complaint.
“An alert was dispatched to members of the National Food Safety and Control Committee, Public Health and Environmental Health Officers (EHO’s) in all ten (10) Administrative Regions and municipalities,” the statement said.

The Department said it is awaiting the result from the exercise carried out in the outlying regions.
“Expired products have been found in Stabroek and Bourda Markets and indicate they were manufactured for Canada,” the statement said while noting that the customer who lodged a complaint said within three days of using the product, suffered pain and headaches which persisted for a few days after the product use was discontinued.

“The Department is strongly advising consumers, particularly during the festive season to pay closer attention to the expiry date and the label of products. Consumers are advised not to consume or use products that are in a foreign language, have their expiry date removed or that appear suspicious. The GA-FDD requests that anyone having additional information or is affected to make contact with the Department on telephone number 222-8859,” the Department said.

Further, Massy Distributors, the official distributor of this product, has since written to the Department distancing itself from this product saying it is not part of its supply chain. Massy is currently assisting the Department with its investigations.