Finance Minister Warns Of Risks From Weak Product Oversight
Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo is defending stricter regulation of small-scale production and consumer goods, warning that weak oversight in areas such as copra products and food production can expose the public to serious harm.
Speaking in the Senate on the Finance Bill 2026, he said licensing systems exist to protect consumers, not burden operators.
He argued that non-compliance creates dangerous imbalances and real risks to public health.
« A copra products license is $25. A vinegar license is $25 in the ordinary case. Even for a Motor launch, the prescribed fees range from $100 to $400, depending on the size of the vessel. But the cost of non-compliance, the cost of non-compliance, Mr. President, can be contamination, injury, or loss of life. That is why the law must have teeth. »
Minister Tancoo also warned that unsafe production practices are not isolated to Trinidad and Tobago, citing global incidents involving contaminated goods, including fatal cases linked to tainted food and alcohol.
« Mr. President, I have in my hand an Associated Press article dated August 22nd, 2011, titled, « Tainted Vinegar Suspected in 11 Deaths in China. » That article stated that vinegar tainted with antifreeze was suspected of killing 11 citizens and sickening 120 other people after a communal meal. And there are many, many more examples. I did a quick search, and in the last two decades, let me just list a few countries in which there have been deaths as a result of tainted products, including vinegar and what we commonly call babash. »
