I think I spotted dirty sugar

Dear Editor,

Just this Saturday, my mom came home relating an incident that happened to her at the market.

There was a cart with 2lb packages of sugar being sold for $100. Needless to say, these were going quickly.

Now since she buys packed sugar regularly she was taken aback by the price. Nevertheless, as she was about to buy one she deduced that this was sugar from the flooded warehouse on Marcus Garvey Drive last month. It certainly would suggest why that quality and quantity sugar was sold for that amount.

Now I will not suggest that my mother’s deduction was correct, but there is a greater concern. What happens to food deemed unsafe? How is it disposed of? What measures are taken to ensure that this food cannot re-enter the market? What enforcement is executed by the health department and the Consumer Affairs Commision?

I have walked through “Back Market” in downtown Kingston and seen vendors selling meat from buckets and igloos. Sometimes these meats are discoloured. It is unlikely that this meat could be safe.

I have heard that people rummage the dumps and collect disposed foods and sell it for prices well below market price, which means they go quickly, purchased by unsuspecting, indifferent or desperate consumers.

Now I hope that I am overreacting, but the idea that someone will sweeten porridge tomorrow with sugar flavoured with sewage water is unsettling.

Dave Richards

d1darichards@gmail.com