Late action on Erin Farm problem

THE EDITOR: What sort of oil-rich country is Trinidad and Tobago? Let me give you an idea of how wrong things are in this place: According to the news media, a local food processing plant has decided to separate its factory from a pig farm which supplies some of its products. This decision is made after an outbreak of food poisoning is linked to its packaged meats.

Now as far as I am concerned, it matters not to me if the factory is placed on Mars and the pig farm on Venus. What really irks me is this: The problem was made known to the company several weeks ago and instead of immediately pulling all its processed meats off the supermarket shelves, Erin Farm drops the price of its products. This meant that more and more people were at risk of being very sick. An unsuspecting public emptied the shelves of the supermarkets, foolishly thinking that this was an act of commercial generosity. And the health authorities, in an amazing act of culpability, admitted that the problem was known for weeks.

They sent samples to various labs, but decided not to go public or demand a recall, for reasons which are unacceptable to me. A few years ago, in the United States, an outbreak of E Coli bacteria in tainted meat resulted in the death of a number of children, and a number of lawsuits. I seem to recall a sum of US $100 million being mentioned in the US media. This entire Erin Farm episode is being downplayed by the Government, and the media. Absorbed with kidnappings and racial strife, they are simply not interested in an in depth expose of the incident. Let us hope that this letter reaches the eyes of someone involved in consumer advocacy, and that he or she does something about his sordid affair.

VINCENT MENDES
Petit Valley