(Oranjestad)— This past Thursday, The Department of Economic Relations (Deaci) has made a public service announcement on their official Facebook page, in which they warn shoppers to be more conscious about where they buy their groceries and what exactly they are buying, especially when it comes to packaged goods.
“The Department of Economic Relations has discovered that there are a few supermarkets on the island—especially those in the San Nicolas area—that are selling rice in small and unmarked packages. This is also true for several other types of packaged foods as well. We ask all shoppers to not buy products that are unmarked and that have no nutrient information on them,” the deaci remarked in their post.
They have indicated that these types of products are risky, and can bring problems along with them. A shopper may be buying a package weighing 1 kilo, but in reality, they are actually getting less product. Additionally, one may never know if the process of changing packaging is done safely and hygienic.
The department has informed that their investigators will be extra attentive to this type of practice among sellers, and have called on all shoppers to please keep an eye out for these types of products.
Comments from users under the Facebook post have stated that this phenomenon has been ongoing for quite some time. What’s more is that this is not only happening in supermarkets, but in pharmacies as well.
The comments have further pointed out that this practice happens with all types of products, including rice, flour, cornflakes, baking powder, dog food, candy and more. It must be emphasized again that this can be dangerous for the buyer, seeing as they have no clue if this product is past its due date or not. There is also no telling what is in these products.
