Consumer Protection Commission Chairman Jerome Gomez is warning consumers to refrain from eating corned beef until the Ministry of Agriculture lifts the precautionary ban on all beef products and beef by-products being imported from Brazil.
Speaking with Guardian Business yesterday, Gomez said he is proposing the creation of a national food committee in light of what has happened with the Brazilian meat packing scandal.
"My advice would be to consumers that they should refrain from eating the product for the time being until the Ministry of Agriculture issues an all-clear," said Gomez.
"We need to have organizations in the country that can watch what is going on in different parts of the world and warn all citizens accordingly."
Gomez also advocated for a means of compensation for those wholesalers or retailers that could be affected in these types of situations.
Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources V. Alfred Gray previously asked for all local suppliers of corned beef and other beef products to remain "patient", keeping in mind that some suppliers could have a large amount of relative stock waiting to be cleared at the dock.
The precautionary ban does not require local merchants to remove corned beef from their shelves.
But Gomez, speaking in the context of if the product was to be removed for consumption, argued that merchants should not "eat that cost".
"We probably need to improve the way we get the word out on certain products or have more collaboration on what actions should be taken, whether you ban the product from being imported, whether you make a decision to move the product off the shelves and stop the wholesaler/retailer from selling it. Then once you do that, how are these people to be compensated? What discussions are going to be had with the manufacturers or the foreign distributor?" Gomez asked.
"We can't expect the merchants to eat that cost."
Gomez said that he would be "proposing a national food committee".
"This committee will immediately convey to decide what course of action would be recommended to the government. So, this will be simply technocrats who will convey and make a recommendations," said Gomez.
The committee would be expected to have a representative from the consumer commission, Customs, the Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Health, the Standards Bureau, and any other organization that may be relevant.

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