CCCP seizes goods worth K11,800 in Northwestern Province
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) in association with eight Local Authorities in Northwestern Province has confiscated goods worth K11,853 following a joint inspection operation.
The random inspections were conducted in 81 trading places in eight (8) districts and goods collectively worth K11,853.00 were seized. The products seized included beverages, baby formula, butter biscuits and cosmetics to mention but a few.
The seized items did not meet the minimum required standard for them to be sold to consumers and the defects on some of the products included, expired products, no expiry dates on some products, broken seals and insufficient labeling.
CCPC public relations officer Namukolo Kasumpa said in a statement today that some products were poorly packaged which contravened consumer protection provisions as outlined in the Food and Drugs Act Cap 303 of the laws of Zambia Act as well as the Competition and Consumer Protection Act No. 24 of 2010.
The seizure of the assorted goods was conducted during a sensitization and advocacy tour which included random inspections of trading places in the districts with the view of ascertaining the traders’ compliance levels of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) No 24 of 2010, specifically with regards to product labelling, display of disclaimers and product safety.
“CCPC in collaboration with eight Local Authorities in Northwestern Province has concluded a nine days joint inspection operation. The random inspections were conducted in 81 trading places in eight districts and goods collectively worth K11,853.00 were seized. The seized items did not meet the minimum required standard for them to be sold to consumers and the defects on some of the products included, expired products, no expiry dates on some products, broken seals and insufficient labeling. Further, some products were poorly packaged which contravened consumer protection provisions as outlined in the Food and Drugs Act Cap 303 of the laws of Zambia Act as well as the Competition and Consumer Protection Act No. 24 of 2010. The products seized included beverages, baby formula, butter biscuits and cosmetics to mention but a few,” Kasumpa stated.
“The seizure of the assorted goods was conducted during a sensitization and advocacy tour which included random inspections of trading places in the districts with the view of ascertaining the traders’ compliance levels of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) No 24 of 2010, specifically with regards to product labelling, display of disclaimers and product safety.”
North Western Province Investigator, James Chalungumana said the random inspection of trading places was an eye opener for most traders whose goods were seized as they did not take their obligations seriously of employing and implementing effective stock rotation schedules to ensure that they monitor the inflow and outflow of their products so that products were sold on first in first out basis.
Chalungumana also noted that the traders consistently in all inspected districts complained that suppliers and distributors supplied them with unsuitable products which had exceeded or were close to reaching their shelf life a conduct that was illegal and unacceptable.
He further stated that the Commission was concerned that unscrupulous traders were taking advantage of rural communities were and CCPC would intensify on inspections to curb this vice.
Chalungumana advised traders to abide by the law and desist from engaging in unfair trading practices or any conduct that puts the consumer at risk.
He added that business entities or individual traders were expected to be responsible enough to provide quality and safe products to consumers across the country failure to which the law would take its course.
Chalungumana also urged consumers to be quality and safety conscious and shun buying products that did not meet the mandatory standard set by the laws of the country.
He advised consumers to always check for labels and expiry dates on all food and non-food items as this would aid in stamping out the sale of substandard products and ensure the products are at their highest level of quality for their intended use.
The Local Authorities involved in the operation were Solwezi, Chavuma, Kabompo, Manyinga, Mfumbwe, Kasempa, Mwininlunga and Ikelengi district councils.
The Sensitization and Advocacy tour was conducted from the 11th to the 19th of September 2017.