FLORENCE HALL, Trelawny — In the wake of last week’s discovery of metal fragments in samples of brown sugar produced by Pan-Caribbean Sugar Company Limited (PCSC), a medical doctor has offered advice to consumers who may be wondering if they need to seek care.

“If the person should consume it and they are having stomach irritation, pain in the stomach or cough and see blood, then its best to go and see a doctor,” Dr Michael Godfrey told the Jamaica Observer during a telephone interview on Monday.

The popular medical practitioner, who is based in Trelawny, said consumption of the product could result in internal bleeding.

“They might just pass it out but if it has sharp edges it can cause scraping and internal bleeding too,” Dr Godfrey explained.

He, however, noted that the metal fragments could also be passed out in the stool without causing physical hazard.

“There is a transit time for passing through the guts, so if they take it from yesterday and they are not seeing anything, more likely it would be passed out in the stool without any problem,” he assured.

The Ministry of Health & Wellness has issued a stop order on the production, distribution, and sale of sugar from PCSC following preliminary tests that revealed the presence of metal fragments in the packaged product.

“The Ministry of Health & Wellness is advising members of the public not to consume packaged sugar produced by the Pan Caribbean Sugar Company. This follows as a preliminary laboratory test has identified metal fragments in samples of this brand of sugar purchased at retail outlets, which may pose a significant health risk, if ingested. The public is therefore asked to safely discard this brand of sugar and await further updates from the Ministry of Health and Wellness,” a statement read, in part, last week.

“Further investigations are under way, and the Ministry of Health and Wellness will provide official updates once laboratory results confirm that any food safety risks have been resolved and the product is safe for consumption,” it continued.

Meanwhile, the National Compliance and Regulatory Authority (NCRA) has agreed to intensify monitoring of sugar quality to protect public health.

The NCRA also advised the public, last week, that there was an immediate nationwide recall of the products produced by Pan-Caribbean Sugar Company Limited after a consumer posted a video to social media platform
TikTok showing what appeared to be signs of metal contamination in his purchase.

NCRA said it has significantly intensified its surveillance and enforcement activities across the sugar supply chain, with measures including targeted inspections, increased sampling from retail outlets and distributors, and close coordination with accredited testing laboratories to facilitate comprehensive chemical and microbiological analyses.