Legal recourse

Barbadians are being told that there is legislation in place through which they can seek recourse should they consume food that is harmful to them.

That’s the word from Susan Sealy, managing attorney-at-law with Genesis Law Chambers, organisers of the Barbados Food, Law and Industry (BFLI) Conference. Speaking to the media during the third annual BFLI Conference held at the Accra Beach Hotel recently, Sealy said that many persons do not know they have rights if they are food poisoned, and through the continuation of the BFIL Conference, they intend to educate persons and also vendors, manufacturers, restaurants and suppliers of food about these rights.

“There are many instances I hear people say they go to restaurants, they eat food and they get sick, they go home, they have diarrhoea, they go to the doctor and that’s it. However from a legal point of view that is really a personal injury and the manufacturers here in Barbados and around the world they have a legal obligation to make sure that safe foods are manufactured and that the consumer’s autonomy in relation to what’s in the food is crucial,” she said.

While food poisoning is considered personal injury, the attorney noted that locally, persons generally do not pursue legal action to hold businesses accountable. She alluded that this should change especially given the devastating impact that tainted food can have on persons, even resulting in death.

“The Consumer Protection Act strictly states that a person who produces food is responsible if that food is defective; defective meaning it could be physical, it could be biological, it could be chemical hazards in the food that would affect the consumer’s health basically, and if it is not wholesome for that consumer, they have legal recourse under the law of torts, negligence,” she explained. 

Sealy added, “Tainted food can make you really sick and we are using this conference to educate persons that they have a responsibility to make sure as a manufacturer and distributor that we are providing food to consumers that is safe and wholesome… but on the other end now I would still have a duty as an attorney to tell persons, ‘hey if you are harmed by food, you definitely have to seek legal recourse.’”

She is therefore encouraging persons who have been affected by tainted food to stand up for their rights. Sealy made the point as she explained that in many cases they need not go to court to have those rights upheld. She explained that all businesses should have insurance that covers public liability through which they can settle claims, be they small or large, in relation to a customer’s personal injury claim. (JRT)