“We are drinking these, whether in tea form or drink
form and we want to ensure that they meet a certain minimum standard”
Director General
of the NCST (National Council on Science and Technology), Professor Errol
Morrison on the coming regulations for Roots Beverages
Neville Bell, the famous media personality on Smile
Jamaica, a morning time program on local television station Television Jamaica
who loves to drink his clicky-click, clickity-clack and Sarsaparilla, which are
popular roots beverages in Jamaica, may soon have to start paying more for
Roots Beverages.
This a plans are now being formulated by the NCTS
(National Council on Science and Technology) to regulate Roots Beverages as
reported in the article “NCST
Pushes for Regulation of Roots Beverages”, published January 20, 2016 By
Tomeica Gunn, The Jamaica Information Service.
The coming regulations will see roots beverages and
other healing potions, be they plant, animal or mineral extracts being classified
as nutraceuticals to quote: “We want to identify it as a proper category. We
are hoping that within another year, all being well, we should have the teeth
to ensure that the industry meets certain minimum (standards)".
This story is huge, as the
Jamaica Gleaner, The
Jamaica Observer and even Loop
Jamaica have all carried the article ad verbatim.
So what exactly are roots beverages?
NCST
to regulate Roots Beverages - Roots beverages as Neutraceuticals regulated like
tonics
Many Jamaicans make roots beverages, including the
man who sells Neville Bell to sell to
the public and they indeed do have a lot of healthy ingredients as noted in the
article entitled “How
safe are roots tonic beverages?” published July 27, 2015 , By Donovan
Grant, The Jamaica Observer.
Some of the more popular roots beverages made by the
man on the street are:
1. Chaney
root
2. Sarsaparilla
3. Hug
me tight
4. Raw
moon
5. Medina
Add a dash of alcohol, whether manually or via
fermentation and you have a roots wine. Tell me if you recognize any of these
brands:
1. Allman
Strength Roots Drink
2. Baba
3. Ginger
Joy
4. Ginger
Wine with Ginseng
5. Kola
Wine
6. Lion
Brand
7. Magnum
8. Pump
It Up
9. Zion
Roots
For example sarsaparilla, alledgedly one of Neville
Bell's favorite beverages, should contain the following vitamins and minerals:
1. B
complex
2. Copper
3. Iodine
4. Iron
5. Manganese
6. Silicon
7. Sodium
8. Sulphur
9. Vitamin
C
10. Vitamin
D
11. Vitamins
A
12. Zinc
Despite this, according to Registered Pharmacist
Diane Robertson, once they have the word “tonic” written on them as noted in
the article “Roots
tonics - how legit are they?”, published Monday, September 01, 2003 by
Gwyneth Harold, The Jamaica Observer,
they have to be registered with the MOH (Ministry of Health).
So what will these regulations involve?
Regulation
for Roots beverages by Bureau of Standards, Ministry of Health - Why homebrew
roots beverages will begin to rise
Roots beverages will be re-classified a
neutraceuticals as noted in the article “Professor
Morrison pushes for regulation of roots beverages”, published Thursday,
January 21, 2016, The Jamaica
Observer.
Roots beverages and will be coming under the same
regulations and guidelines as tonics as it relates to:
1. Methods
of preparation
2. Reliability
of the product
3. Standard
for labelling
4. Standards
of packaging
This implies that not only will the Ministry of
Health will be involved in making the distinction between roots beverages and
tonics, but they'll also receive assistance from the BSJ (Bureau of Standards)
as it relates to packaging and labelling guidelines. Non-compliant producer of
Roots beverages might probably get assistance from the SRC (Scientific Research
Council) to get their preparations up to snuff.
So
technically this even covers Colloidal silver, the miracle panacea that's made
of a suspension of Silver Oxide (Ag2O) as
described in the article “The Miracle
Water - Residents Say Colloidal Silver Cures Everything”, Published
Saturday June 15, 2013, The Jamaica
Gleaner, will be classified as a neutraceutical and will also fall under
these coming regulations.
This may even extend to fruit blends such as Soursop
with honey as described in my blog article entitled
“How
annonaceous acetogenins in Soursop Plant Cures Cancer”.
It'll be interesting to see how they'll go after the
regular man on the street who brews his concoctions and even the people who
makes their roots beverages using ingredients that they can grow in their
backyard.
If anything, with the coming of the Zika Virus, now
in Haiti as noted in my blog article entitled
“Why
Haiti and Guyana Zika Virus cases means Jamaica will get Zika Virus by
Valentine's Day” there will be an increase in homebrewing of roots and
medicinal herbs at home.
After all, if they contain Vitamin C and B complex,
then there is no need to buy them at the pharmacy, once you know how to extract
the vitamins and minerals without damaging them. Hint: avoid using direct heat,
only water baths, steep the crushed roots, preferably with a mortar and pestil
in distilled water or 100% overproof Rum and use a centrifuge to separate the
different fractions after steeping for a week.
These regulations imply not only the Ministry of
Health and the Bureau of Standards being involved, but the Jamaican Police
coming in to make sure there are no breaches. That includes Neville Bell, who
might start brewing his clicky-click, clickity-clack and sarsaparilla roots beverages
at home to avoid paying for regulated roots!
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