Food safety and quality
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Focal Point Information

E-mail:
Country:
Trinidad and Tobago
Organization/agency name (Full name):
Chemistry Food and Drugs
Contact person name:
Dr Deryck D. Pattron
Website:
Physical full address:
92 Frederick Street, Port of Spain
Phone number:
8686232834
Fax number:
8686232477
Country introduction
Summary:

The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, has several organisations that address questions of

safety related to Food, Drugs, Cosmetics and Medical Devices (Food and Drugs Division of

the Ministry of Health), the surroundings (the Environmental Management Authority,

Ministry of Public Utilities and, agriculture (The Plant and Animal Quarantine Services of the

Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources) and importations (Customs and Excise

Division of the Ministry of Finance). There is established legislation in these areas.

Recognizing that there exists no legislation on GMOs, a National Biosafety Policy was

developed as an important Public Health issue by the Government in August 2000. The

National Biosafety Policy takes into consideration the international agreements to which

Trinidad and Tobago is a signatory and is in harmony with the CARICOM Single Market and

Economy. Some of the international agreements include:

  1. The Cartagena Protocol on Biodiversity acceded on October 5th, 2000.
  2. The Sanitary and Phytosanitary.
  3. Technical Barriers to Trade.
  4. Trade Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
  5. World Trade Organization.
  6. Codex Alimentarius.
  7. International Plant Protection Convention.
  8. World Organization for Animal Health.
  9. Universal declaration of Human Rights.

The National Biosafety Policy utilizes the precautionary principle that allows

informed decisions to be made regarding imports that could have potential adverse effects

on the environment and human health and well being. The focal point of the National

Biosafety Policy and by extension, legislation, is to protect and alert; prior  to arrival of

GMOs, upon arrival and during use. Continued networking, collaboration, skills training, risk

analysis, risk management, risk communication, infrastructure development and additional

resources need to be put in place, together with the requisite administrative and legislative

framework and regulations and concomitant enforcement to ensure public health and safety

for all.

 

Dr. Deryck D. Pattron, Ph.D.

 

 

Framework
Regulatory framework:
My country does not have a regulatory framework that requires the competent authority to conduct safety assessment of GM food.
Structure for GM food safety assessment:
My country does not have a structure for GM food safety assessment.
Supplemental information:
Contact details of the competent authority(s) responsible for the safety assessment and the product applicant:
Assessment
GM food safety assessment guidelines:
My country does not conduct safety assessment of GM food but the country has, or the country is in the process of developing national/regional guidelines that are not in line with the Codex Guidelines in conducting safety assessment of GM food.
Conduct of GM food safety assessment:
My country has never conducted food safety assessment of GM food but is planning to conduct such assessment in the near future.
Supplemental information on the implementation:
Stacked events
Regulation of stacked events:
There is no regulations in my country on stacked events.
Supplemental information on the stacked events:
Production and trade
GM food/feed production:
My country does not produce any GM food or feed.
GM food/feed imports:
My country allows imports GM food or feed upon authorization.
Supplemental information on the production and trade:
LLP/AP incidents
LLP/AP incidents:
My country does not monitor LLP/AP situations.
Supplemental information on the LLP/AP incidents:
Labelling requirement
Labelling requirement:
My country does not have any labeling regulations/policies on GM food.
Supplemental information on the Labelling requirement:
Relevant links to documents and information prepared by the competent authority responsible for the safety assessment
Other relevant documents:
Country information last modified:
19/08/2016