Today’s column of Que se dice carries a paragraph entitled “On the tip if the lance”, and it refers to recent statements by the head of the government’s Quality Control office – DIGENOR. The columnist says that there are many examples available to illustrate the lack of consumer defense in the Dominican Republic, but none are so eloquent as the recent statements by DIGENOR director general Julio Santana. Santana shamelessly admitted that his office lacks the necessary technical competence to supervise and certify food processing and food service in this country. The columnist says that nobody can remember a time when DIGENOR was ever able to fulfill its role, since the day it was founded. This explains why today, when it is needed more than ever, DIGENOR is languishing in poverty with a budget that barely covers its staff’s salaries. This is the situation as the Dominican Republic is on the threshold of the free-trade deal with the United States and Central America, which means that Quality Control has become even more necessary in order to compete on the same level with our new business partners, and benefit from the new regional market. As things stand, this cannot happen.