Look into these juice vendors, please

By Oscar Haynes

I call on the authorities to look into the habits and practices of the homemade juice and bottled coconut water producers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

I applaud the efforts of those who ply their trade daily in the heat of the sun to make a living.

However, persons must also bear in mind that there are proper procedures and regulations to adhere to when preparing food or drinks for sale.

These products are for human consumption and a lot of times pose serious health hazards.

Not to knock anyone’s hustle but I would like to outline some of the habits I see becoming the norm:

1. The bottles are not labeled, so there is no way to tell who manufactured the product, the date of manufacture, the ingredients or the contact information of the maker or the expiry date.
2. These drinks are frozen, defrosted and refrozen again if they were not sold the previous day.
3. The bottled coconut water appears to have additives such as water and white sugar that gives it a particular taste and look.

Do drinks with milk as an ingredient have the same shelf life as those without?

I would never encourage persons not to buy these products from those vendors or hustlers, but for my own health and safety, if I am not to certain about a particular product, especially the coconut water, I would prefer to drink from the coconut shell.

Not everyone is qualified for food handling and drink preparation.

Before this becomes an epidemic, something must be done for the good of the vendor and the consumer.

The views expressed herein are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the opinions or editorial position of iWitness News. Opinion pieces can be submitted to [email protected]

The opinions presented in this content belong to the author and may not necessarily reflect the perspectives or editorial stance of iWitness News. Opinion pieces can be submitted to [email protected].