Businessman Faizal Asif Iqbal Alli has denied the allegations of malpractice levelled against him by the Government Analyst-Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD) after it refused the entry of four containers of food imports and he has threatened legal action against the entity.
This was disclosed yesterday via a letter from his attorney, Anil Nandlall, which was addressed to the Director of GA-FDD Marlon Cole.
“I am to inform you that my client specifically and categorically denies each and every allegation which you have made against him and the products which he has imported. I am instructed that my client has been importing a wide variety of food items, beverages and other consumables on a large-scale basis, for over a decade and with the exception of a singular incident, has never been the subject of such allegations,” Nandlall wrote in the letter.
It was noted that in that incident, seven years ago, the distributor of the product accepted full responsibility for the error made.
Nandlall also said that the allegations were not only levelled against Alli but also leading international companies as well as two public authorities, the Canada Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada.
“The businesses and agencies, to which I have made reference [and] whose goodwill, commercial reputation and professional competence are impugned by your public disclosures have been duly apprised and, presumably, will be contacting you and your Department, in due course on that specific issue,” the letter stated.
He also copied correspondences by some of the Canadian distributors of the products, who challenged the GA-FDD’s findings.
On Wednesday, the GA-FDD had announced in a press release that four containers of assorted food items imported from Canada by Alli were denied entry into the country.
The press release had said that a decision was made to extract and examine the items from the containers following several consumer complaints, “many” attempts by the department’s inspectors to conduct inspections and locate several bonds operated by Alli and against the backdrop of allegations of alleged malpractices perpetrated by Alli.
The release further stated that detailed examinations and sampling of the container’s contents were carried out on October 25th and October 30th, during which several findings were unearthed. These include: Expiry dates deliberately removed and extended with a date marking machine; repackaging of some products from the original container or packages into bulk containers void of labelling details; expired or short-dated expiry dates were removed on some 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 was labelled as “White Vinegar”.
The GA-FDD had further stated that inspections would be “urgently” carried out at retail premises across the country since two of the containers bearing substandard items were electronically released from the port of entry without the department’s consent or approval.
“Inspectors subsequently visited Mr Alli premises …and reported that none of the items could (be) located,” the release added.
“The Department will now exchange communication and details of this practice with the Canadian Food Exporters Association, which attested to the wholesomeness of the products on a Health Certificate that was used to facilitate the trade of the items from Canada to Guyana,” it had added.
The Department had also said that legal proceedings would be instituted by its prosecutor against Alli for allegedly knowingly or deliberately facilitating the importation and release of substandard articles of food to be used by the general populace of Guyana.
Nandlall said that Alli has several more containers enroute to Guyana and as such he is “anxious” to address the allegations in order to facilitate a “speedy and conclusive” resolution.
He noted that the GA-FDD disclosure did not identify the products which were deemed “objectionable”. As a result, Nandlall has since requested a list of the “objectionable” items and the reason/s for the objection/s.
“I further request that you forthwith release the products that you do not find objectionable; I am instructed that there are many non-food items in the containers to which your stated objections cannot possibly apply. I hereby request, that you release those items, as well,” Nandlall noted.
Nandlall said Alli is even willing to hire, at his own expenses, an internationally recognised food analyst to conduct an analysis on the products and prepare a report on the findings in the presence of the company representatives once permission is granted.
He further explained that containers contains perishable items, which have a total approximate market value of over $40 million.
“You do appreciate that most of the items involved are perishables and, therefore, time is of the essence. My client insists that I inform you that the total value of the two containers currently detained, approximate to a market value of, in excess of forty million dollars and if they perish or are lost, as a result of unlawful actions and or omissions, legal proceedings would be an inevitability,” Nandlall stated.
Alli, through his attorney, has also denied ownership of two of the five products displayed in pictures disseminated by GA-FDD.
Alli had told Stabroek News on Wednesday evening at his business that he was being penalised for something he has no knowledge of. The businessman said he has been distributing items countrywide and he has never received any complaints from any of his customers.
“…Nobody never complain. I have tons of customers,” he said.
He added that whenever there are reports of expired products, an exchange is done and he disposes of them.
Alli also said that he only has one bond which he operates and not several as is being claimed by the GA-FDD.
