The many unsuspected out-dated items on the shelves of food stores are affecting the welfare and health of Bahamian consumers.
Minister of Trade and Industry, Leslie Miller, told members of the House of Assembly Wednesday that in many cases, a product taken off the shelf in Miami, Florida is placed on grocery shelves in The Bahamas and sold to an unsuspecting public.
“Because of the code that they have on those respective items, the average consumer does not have the slightest idea of what that expiry date is. All they have is numbers and bar codes,” he said, adding that it was recently discovered in a local store that a shelf item was out-dated for nearly two years and remained on sale.
Minister Miller said that under new legislation, there will be a stamp clearly placed on a portion of the products box, informing the consumer of an expiry date for consumption. Minister Miller also alleged that many of the expired products on grocery shelves, have led to cancer.
“If one was to look at statistics in The Bahamas with regard to cancer over the last 20 years, there is an enormous increase of cancer deaths that has quadrupled. We ask ourselves why Bahamians are dying so much of cancer. Some may tell you that it is the water, but I believe that it is inherent in some of the products that we consume in this country without knowing the dangers of an expiry date,” he said.
Minister Miller said the health risks of expired items, far outweigh the cost of the item, because a life may be at risk. He said that store owners need to constantly check their items to ensure that they are not selling items that may cause ill health, or in some cases even death. “No one is to say what can happen to your wellbeing, if you use a product that is two years old,” he said.
The Trade and Industry Minister said that every consumer product that is made in the U.S. and Europe with an expiry date has a meaning and such countries have enacted the necessary legislation to protect the health of the residents. He added however, that most third world countries, such as The Bahamas, have these expired products dumped into the marketplace, but Bahamians never complain and are only concerned about the quality of locally made products.
“Bahamians are not people who complain. We pay little attention to what affects our livelihood and because of our nonchalant attitude, people take advantage of us,” he said.
Minister Miller said that it is unfortunate that consumers are not fully aware of the grave ramifications of what is taking place. He noted that many of those who work within the industry itself, are unaware of some of the expired products that they may be placing on the shelf, to the detriment of the Bahamian people.
“We have to be forever vigilant, even of those who are among us, that they will take advantage of those unsuspecting few who can’t help themselves. I believe we have an inherent obligation to protect those who are unable to protect themselves,” he said.
Meanwhile, Minister Miller said that education on the Consumer Protection Bill would eliminate a lot of these problems, but we must make the laws tough enough, to ensure that those responsible for causing harm, pay the price associated with the problem that they would have caused.
By Tamara McKenzie, The Nassau Guardian
