The statement released by the State Food Security Service regarding the revelation of violations made by diary companies and the suspension of the production by that companies has risen concerns and anxiety among the parents instead of providing them with answers.
Some mothers have already fed their children with the products of the companies that have been named in the list of the ones having made violations. What effects can a diary product containing large amount of antibiotics have to a child’s health? The service has not provided any information what specific violations have been made and by what companies. And another issue rises regarding whether such products have been removed from the sale of the markets.
Such a statement is considered not reliable by some experts.
“Neither a consumer, nor a parent can figure out the risks emerged by intestinal bacteria, other types of bacteria or the significant amount of antibiotics. Which one of them presents more threat to the child’s health?” turning to this issue expert on food safety Dr. David Pipoyan noted during the interview conducted by Panorama.am.
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He explained that the existence of antibiotics in the children’s food can have a more negative effect on the body. He noted that the issue of acquiring immunity to antibiotics is often voiced by the experts, however there are more controversial issues.
“The use of antibiotics has other side effects on a child’s health. One of them is the emergence of allergic diseases. It is not arbitrary that the number of children suffering from allergic diseases has increased in Armenia in the recent years,” the expert explained.
According to him the consumer is more interested in the specifics of an alleged risk. All he side effects of that microorganism are to be clearly described.
“International practice shows that when announcing about a threat it is mentioned that for instance carcinogenic substances have been discovered in a certain group of products of a certain sweet. The consumers are not interested in names but rather the consequences of using such a product,” D. Pipoyan said.
The consumers will not be interested in learning what violations has been revealed in diary companies if the specific group of products are not mentioned.
“All this is a way of overriding the issue. You see, only the head of the Security Service has been changed. A few weeks ago when we voiced about such violations, they would not admit them claiming that no such violations existed. And suddenly a few weeks later it turns out that such violations do exist,” Pipoyan added.
Expert on food safety underscores the importance of providing clear data on the concrete violations made in specific products. “Lets us imagine I do not have a third alternative and have to choose between the products one of which contains antibiotics and the other_ microorganisms. Naturally I will buy the bottle of milk containing microorganisms. If such details are not provided in the statement, it becomes pointless.”
SFSS has reported that the sale of the groups of products considered dangerous as a result of the laboratory examination has been suspended and are subject to elimination as prescribed by the RA legislation.
However D, Pipoyan has doubts regarding this announcement.
“There has been numerous cases in Armenia when the service has announced the calling back of the dangerous products, but the next day they such a product has been found in the markets.”
The expert considers all these activities and statements pointless if the risk is not assessed, the products are not removed from sale and eliminated.
“The service has an enormous staff in the risk management department, however we have no person in charge with risk assessment. It reminds me of an Armenian anecdote: We have a balcony but not a balcony door. This all is a comedy,” he noted.
The expert also stresses the importance of imposing punishments in such cases.
“Withdrawal and elimination of such products is also a form of punishment. No sanctions are imposed in our country in such violations. Instead of punishments we have introduced the practice of “I am sorry” in our country and all the issues emerge from it,” he concluded.
The expert warns that In case of the absence of responsibility the situation will get worse with each year.
