For about the third time in less than six months, the BSJ has seen it fit to “warn” the public of substandard items that could result in health issues for Jamaicans, but have failed on every occasion thus far to truly warn the public.
Sounds confusing right?
Well a few months ago the BSJ warned consumers about the purchase of the ” black coil” mosquito destroyer and indicated to us that the product could cause the public and their pets harm. What the Bureau did back then, was to make an alarm without providing us any further detail such as brand name etc, which could help the public to identify the offending product.
A few weeks later the BSJ was at it again “warning” the public about substandard toilet paper, which were laden with bacteria , which may have or could have contributed to vaginal infection in our women.
Yesterday once again the BSJ was at it again “warning” us of even more evidence of bacterial laden tissue ( I guess its toilet tissue to it is ok to have bacteria). I am DISAPPOINTED and ANGRY at the BSJ for failing to name the DANGEROUS and bacteria laden tissues that are involved.
I don’t want the BSJ to tell me their job is to simply conduct the test and pass on the results to the relevant government agency, no. If you see it fit to issue a release on adverse findings, then its job ( BSJ) must be to PROTECT the interest and in this case the HEALTH of the Jamaican resident !
It smacks of dereliction of duty on the path of an agency or multiple agencies who have chosen NOT to name the BRANDS of tissues involved and I can only therefore infer from their action or lack thereof, that they are NOT protecting the public but are instead protecting the IMPORTER !
Will the Ministry of Health and or the Government Chief Medical Officer please step forward and release the name of the BACTERIAL LADED tissues, the manufacturer of these tissues, the country of origin and the IMPORTER.
It is full time the damn lazy Jamaican public stand up and be heard, we are too contented to sit back and be fed crap day in day out.
How on earth am I to protect my wife and daughter from these harmful products, if I don’t even know what I am looking for.
When will Jamaicans start demand accountability from those who are given charge to act on our behalf, when , when, when.
If the Ministry of health fails to issue a release before the end of this week I will personally seek out and get the name of the offending product and post that information on the blog and if I can get the information on the Importer(though less important), I will name them too.
Frankly I am fedup with our ( and I mean we the residents ) lack of interest in matters that are really important and so often get caught up in the minor things. Our lack of focus and our ability or lack therefore to stick with a issue has caused Jamaicans and Jamaica to be known as the place where no issue no matter how important it is goes beyond NINE DAYS, with the only exception being political issues.
FEDUP IYAH !!
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/BSJ-to-increase-inspection-of-imported-local-paper-towels
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/BSJ-warns-of-unsafe-tissues_139015232013-03-22T01-11-35
Filed under: Health |
Warren's Blog 
Absolute madness. Who are they protecting?
We fail to realise that toilet paper is not only used by females to wipe after they have urinated. There is a threat of anal infections also, and how many of us use toilet paper to blow our noses, wipe tears, clean our faces, dress cuts and bruises? We are being too myopic in responding to this health threat that can seriously affect all members of the public! How long has the BSJ been testing the toilet paper and what about people who were infected before BSJ pulled the brands in question off the shelves? Some persons buy toilet paper in bulk. How do they know if the batch they bought from was not manufactured before the ones in the samples tested by BSJ? I suppose other countries who may also import these “unsafe brands” will have to find out for themselves since the names cannot be published!
Jay:
You seem to have a lot of confidence in the BSJ. Isn’t this the same organization that was once headed by an individual (Omer Thomas) that claim he had a Bachelor, Masters and PhD, when in reality all three academic credentials were fake? Wasn’t Omer Thomas a research at that same institution? When Omer went on to head RADA and it was discovered that he had a “credentialing” problem, the female head of BSJ at the time, abruptly resigned her post., suggesting that she too problems with her credentials. What does it say about an organization that is suppose to be Jamaica’s premier scientific body, when the heads of the organization is later proven to be a fake?
BSJ was the same body that certified that the (human) feces-laden cheap fertilizer was safe/acceptable to be used by our farmers, despite proof to the contrary. Maybe we should be asking ourselves if this organization is even capable of undertaking any scientific testing. Maybe BSJ is a prime candidate the cutting block. Do they serve any useful purpose?
Test, Omar may have had a credential and credibility problems and is no longer there, the BSJ has some very competent and qualified engineers , scientist and technologist on staff.
The problem they have is one of timidity given the propensity of the Jamaican populace to be vindictive.
They appear afraid to call names and that needs to change,
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from LIME.
Since when the BSJ cant all names. Remember they used to name the fans and other household appliances. I am told that the toilet papers are out of China, I dont even know if they have labels. Checking on this, but I dont think they are in the mainstream trade, maybe just down market (wholesale or street side)
Actually one of the worst one that was tested by the BSJ was a locally made tissue 😦
Oh really? I haven’t heard about any local ones. I did not get that from your post either .. to quote .. “It smacks of dereliction of duty on the path of an agency or multiple agencies who have chosen NOT to name the BRANDS of tissues involved and I can only therefore infer from their action or lack thereof, that they are NOT protecting the public but are instead protecting the IMPORTER !
Will the Ministry of Health and or the Government Chief Medical Officer please step forward and release the name of the BACTERIAL LADED tissues, the manufacturer of these tissues, the country of origin and the IMPORTER.”
Note I said “one of the worst”, there are two other that are imported that are bad, but not as bad as the local one. I am still trying to get details, but BSJ is really being a mouse and refuses to name all brands involved including the local one.
This is the report from RJR. The BSJ reported that their tests include local manufacturers but no report on any adverse findings on local brands.
http://rjrnewsonline.com/local/bureau-of-standards-intensifies-inspection-of-toilet-tissues
Acar trust me on this one my information is solid.
Same report in the Observer
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/BSJ-warns-of-unsafe-tissues_139015232013-03-22T01-11-35
Hint :
This has reportedly been substantiated by the Ministry of Health, which is increasing its surveillance of local manufacturers of toilet tissue and paper hand towels, to ensure compliance with good manufacturing practices
I can now report that the tissues with the adverse findings have been held and all the distributor(s) have been contacted and an attempt is being made to recall the bad batch that is involved.
My question is, if some have escaped the custody of the MOH, how the hell will the public know and be able to advise the Ministry ?
I am really annoyed with not only the BSJ now but the MOH for their collective failure to protect the public.
Jay, you are not reporting anything that has not already been reported by the Observer and RJR. The ones with adverse results are all imported. (doubting your story)
Still doubting my story?
Try and keep up man.
Note I said “one of the worst”, there are two other that are imported that are bad, but not as bad as the local one. I am still trying to get details, but BSJ is really being a mouse and refuses to name all brands involved including the local one.
Jay, given your level of confidence in your source of the information, why wouldn’t you release the name of the local and the two imported brands. Information of this sort should be release to the public. Jay, you need to do everyone a service by releasing the information. We cannot trust our government agency to do the right thing.
A few years ago, a large number of people were sicken by “tainted” fish in Manchester, which apparently had high levels of formaldehyde. Various tests were done by the MOH, yet the results were never made public (to my knowledge). It is my understanding that due to the depletion of the fish stock in our Jamaican waters, our fishermen have been sourcing their fish from Honduran fishermen. From what I have been told, a significant amount of the fish being sold in Jamaica are brought from these Honduran fishing vessels “out at sea”. It is said that these fish are preserved using the embalming agent.
One cannot help but question whose interest these Government Agencies are protecting.
@ Test. Its my understanding that additional testing is being done and as soon as (let’s call it the B sample) shows adverse findings we should see a official release including the brands involved.
I will stay on top of this one and do everyting in my power to ensure its not swept under the poverbial carpet.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from LIME.
I find what you say here absolutely amazing. There were no need for the imported brands to be retested. The results are final. As the BSJ release said, they will be returned or destroyed.
I guess you missed this point ” Preliminary tests done indicated high levels of bacteria among some samples”.
Now I am not sure if the BSJ will make a call for destruction of the products based on preliminary results.
If you are so convinced, I am not and so will watch and seek out the “final” test results.
At that stage I want the BSJ or the MOHto tell us, which brands were involved, its our right to know.
http://www.bsj.org.jm/NewsDetails/tabid/139/Default.aspx?news=566
Tests PROVE unsafe tissue here
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130324/lead/lead8.html
“The next stage is that the Customs should go on the shelves of the supermarkets and the hotels to test those products because the public is at great risk,” suggested Prakash Vaswani, one of the country’s leading manufacturers of toilet paper.
“All the Jamaica toilet paper manufacturers are grateful to The Gleaner for the role it has played in the public health of the nation,” added Vaswani.
May I suggest that if your preliminary test is not up to international standards (but you trust the results enough to take action), then you do so while protecting yourself legally. In the interim, you have the test re-done at a certified facility so any naming of manufacturers can stand up in court.
Welcome to the real world.
@ Acar
Did you see TVJ news today( 4/15), where confirmation was given that one of the brands of tissue with high bacterial content is a locally manufactured brand.
The public now seems to be getting involved and KD Knight has now gotten involved and has chided the BSJ for not releasing the names of the “bad” tissues.
This comes almost three weeks after Jay’s report on the tissue issue and my views on the approach being used by the BSJ.
@ Acar just in case you missed the news, I believe this is the clip.
http://www.televisionjamaica.com/Programmes/PrimeTimeNews.aspx/Videos/25730
Still doubting my story?
I think you should apologize to bloggers 🙂
The Bureau of standards Jamaica has screwed up and could cost one company millions of dollar .
One brand SOFF was not on the list of tissues deemed good by the Bureau Of Standards. This brand is distributed by Mussons and may have been inadvertently left of the list or was mis-spelt as SOFT, which is what is on the list on BSJ website.
Someone ( as Jay did) not seeing it on this list, will not only assume its bad, but will call the distributor and ask them ” why are you distributing bad products to the consumer”
This is they type of error that could be costly not only to the company involved, but also to BSJ should the afflicted company decides to sue the BSJ.
It is much easier to remember a list of 4 items vs a listing of 20+
BSJ – Fix up !
I refer you to my previous comment re the competency of the BSJ. If you have any doubt about their level of ineptitude, then this fiasco clearly confirms it. Read the articles below and reference comments from the current Director of Standards and Chairman of the organization and tell me if they are even fit to serve in their respective roles.
We are still conducting investigations, we have sent samples to a lab overseas because we are doing some comparative analysis , so we would not want to release the names of those brands until we have conducted the necessary due diligence” said Orine Henry Blair, the BSJ’s Director of Standards.
http://rjrnewsonline.com/local/toilet-paper-recall-bureau-of-standards
Professor Winston Davidson, chairman of the Bureau of Standards, told to RJR News that the agency had never before tested toilet tissue in Jamaica to determine if there was bacteria. However, because of a case presented by a gynaecologist it decided “in the public interest” to conduct tests to determine if they had microbiological contamination. He said persons who import and export tissues were never told that the tests would be part of the standards. As a result, Professor Davidson contended, to reveal the names of the tissues found to be contaminated would have legal implications for the Bureau.
http://rjrnewsonline.com/local/bureau-of-standards-defends-decision-to-withhold-names-of-tissue-brands
It appears these individuals were more concern about BSJ being sued, as oppose to what was in the best interest of the general public. Why weren’t these 4 brands pull from the shelves and the public warn not to use these brands during the testing phase? How many people were exposed (harmed) to the harmful bacteria while the test was being carried out?
My guess is there will be no call for any “heads to roll”, since these individuals are not politicians…..right Jay?
The Minister of Health should resign . lol lol 🙂
Anyway this situation is a Royal Mess.
Acar, you were a doubting Thomas, I guess you are now convinced with all I reported nearly three weeks agi\o.
I wrote the following on March, 22, 2013
Will the Ministry of Health and or the Government Chief Medical Officer please step forward and release the name of the BACTERIAL LADED tissues, the manufacturer of these tissues, the country of origin and the IMPORTER.
Today is April 16, 2013 , almost 4 weeks later and the MOH is just now stepping in.
Jamaica is a freaking joke and so are Jamaicans.
No where else would people accept this crap.
http://cucumberjuice.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/toilet-paper-governance/
Good read
http://rjrnewsonline.com/local/confusion-surrounds-toilet-paper-recall
The BSJ jas failed in its main mission, which is to inform the public. But then again practically all of the civil service needs a serious revamp and people need to be let go. Will this government have the necessary “balls’ to do so; I don’t think so. THings have to get awful, now its just bad. Why, well they are the core of the voting public so only a dumb or desperate politician would mash im own corn. Thats the reality. Any moves that will be made will be around the edges, until there is no choice left. Please note that the latest agreement with the unions preclude any cuts to the civil service.
Still no name but re-confirmation of local brand involved.
At least one manufacturer of locally produced toilet tissue has recalled its products.
The manufacturer or the brand of tissue have not been named.
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/latest/article.php?id=44171
Local Tissue Producer Goes Into Hiding
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130419/lead/lead6.html