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A High Court judge has ruled that the chief chemist of the Food and Drugs Division (FDD) of the Ministry of Health acted illegally and irrationally when it blocked a local distributor from selling imported energy drinks in 2024.

In a judgment on May 26, Justice Frank Seepersad found that the actions of the chief chemist violated the law when Rollins Marketing Company Ltd (RMCL) was barred from distributing 1,900 cases of Sting energy drinks in January 2024. The judge declared the FDD’s directives were “illegal, irrational, unreasonable, procedurally improper, null and void and of no effect.”

RMCL, an importer of beverages from various countries, had purchased the drinks from Vietnam-based Phu Quang Service and Trade Company Ltd. The goods, 380 cases of Sting Red Strawberry and 1,520 cases of Sting Gold, which had an August 2024 expiry, were cleared by Customs after RMCL paid $44,686.23 in duties and stored the consignment at its Couva warehouse.