The lead story in last Wednesday's STAR spoke about a decision to clamp down on companies producing roots drink which are not registered with the Bureau of Standards.

According to the story, the unregistered companies were breaching the Standards Act which has some guidelines that they should follow.

These include general sanitation, water quality, suitability of equipment for proposed use and adequate lighting and ventilation.

The illegal roots-producing companies need to get certified and consumers should not support them by purchasing their products as they are only putting themselves at risk.

Consumers have no clear way of knowing that the drink on the shelves was made under sanitary conditions unless some form of checks were done by a reliable agency.

This is what the bureau provides. In doing checks of the various sites and passing them, consumers can feel safe in knowing that all was done to ensure they can purchase safe products.

Illegal producers should not look at the regulations as a means to close down their operations. They should instead see it as an opportunity to boost their sales and profits.

Many of them could be making the products under sanitary conditions, and by getting registered, consumers would know this and support their products more.

Jamaicans need to break the culture of doing things underground. We need to follow the legal channels and the Government should consider putting some incentives in place to reward those who follow the law and punish those who do, not to encourage compliance.