Food safety in Suriname is not guaranteed. The Nationaal Instituut voor Voedselveiligheid Suriname (NIVS) has been without a supervisory board for two years. “An institute that must play a central role in guaranteeing our food safety has been functioning for quite some time without administrative oversight and is effectively directionless,” DNA (Suriname’s parliament) member Ann Sadi said in parliament on Monday.
The institute has now been without oversight for two years, while food safety issues continue to increase. According to her, strict attention must be paid to food hygiene, pesticide residues, microbiological and chemical contamination, labelling and the safety of imported and locally produced food products. But Sadi does not know whether this has been adequately monitored over the past two years.
The politician stressed that food safety directly affects public health, but also agriculture, trade and the export position. “We can observe expired products, we can smell spoiled products, but we cannot see or smell pesticides and heavy chemicals. That is why Suriname needs a strongly functioning NIVS right now. Food safety cannot wait until a serious incident occurs,” the DNA member said. She asked the government to give serious attention to this issue.
