By Wendy Mkandawire
The Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC) has seized 649 expired or uncertified items from 14 shops during enforcement inspections conducted across several districts this week.
CFTC Public Relations Officer Innocent Helema said enforcement officers found 14,472 packs of biscuits, 72 packets of vanilla cream biscuits, 20 packs of noodles, 20 bottles of yogurt, and 26 cans of condensed milk that had expired.Helema stated that the items were either expired or lacked certification, making them unsafe for consumers.
He said that according to trading laws, selling such products violates Section 51 of the Competition and Fair Trading Act (CFTA), which prohibits the supply of products that can cause injury or harm to consumers and those that do not comply with Malawi’s consumer safety standards, including expired goods.CFTC warned that the commission will take regulatory action against offending shops, including monetary penalties of up to 10 percent of their annual turnover once found in violation of the CFTA.
The Commission urged the public to remain vigilant, inspect packaging, expiry dates, and product certification marks, and report any traders violating fair trading laws.
CFTC said it will continue and intensify market inspections and urged traders and suppliers to do due diligence to ensure they do not stock expired and uncertified products.
