Export Saint Lucia has strongly refuted viral social media allegations suggesting that the island produces “fake seamoss,” describing the claims as baseless and harmful to one of Saint Lucia’s most prized exports.
CEO Sunita Daniel has dismissed the accusations as an attempt to undermine the country’s growing seamoss industry and confirmed that the agency is taking steps to defend local farmers and the nation’s reputation.
“So for us, I need to say that Saint Lucia seamoss is monitored exclusively by farmers and the government,” Daniel said, clarifying that the country maintains rigorous oversight of its production and export standards.
“Saint Lucia seamoss has been monitored, our production practices, the seamoss that we export. Very recently, in about the last year, the government has put together a committee to really look at the Saint Lucia seamoss industry.”
Daniel explained that every batch of seamoss destined for export undergoes certification by the agency.
“We’ve been monitoring and giving certificates from Export Saint Lucia on the seamoss that is exported. So all seamoss that is exported has to get a certificate from Export Saint Lucia,” she said.
She emphasised that the product is tested and certified not only locally but also by international authorities such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The CEO warned that misinformation can cause serious harm to Saint Lucian farmers whose livelihoods depend on the global demand for seamoss.
Daniel also suggested that the source of the misinformation may be commercial rather than scientific.
“We have recognised that, especially from the United States, some business people in the United States do engage in those kinds of unfair practices,” she said.
Drawing parallels to past incidents, she added, “We’ve seen it before in the coconut industry, where some business people in the United States said coconut oil was not good for our health. And we eventually found out that these same companies were themselves producing coconut oil.”
According to Daniel, the same strategy appears to be unfolding in the seamoss market.
“We think that that’s the same thing that’s happening with our seamoss,” she said. “That particular business person wants to promote their own seamoss, which is being sold from a competing country, and would say that Saint Lucia’s seamoss is fake seamoss.”
Export Saint Lucia has indicated that it is considering legal action to challenge the false claims and safeguard both the integrity of Saint Lucia’s export market and the reputation of the island’s hardworking farmers.