Harare, (New Ziana) – The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) has warned consumers against buying food items from unregistered retailers as they might expose themselves to unsafe products.
Zimbabwean consumers have of late witnessed a proliferation of counterfeit products, mostly imports, especially of basic commodities, medicines and alcoholic beverages. In an interview, CCZ chief executive officer Rose Mpofu said consumers should not buy food from the streets as some of it would not have gone through safety control checks.
“When we are looking at foodstuffs, it is very concerning because it’s about life and death. And when there are counterfeit food products, it’s a big danger to the public,” she said.
“Consumers, make sure that whatever you are purchasing, you are purchasing from the rightful places, from registered, licensed places, such as proper supermarkets. When it comes to these dangerous products, it’s very important to buy from licensed suppliers,” she said.
Mpofu urged consumers to notify CCZ and the police whenever they suspect that there are unsafe or counterfeit products so that the council conducts random laboratory tests. “You can tell us, you can even tell our partners, the Consumer Protection Commission, you can even tell the police, and we can take those samples either ourselves or through our environmental health practitioners to ensure that the products are tested and consumers are safe. Remember, as a consumer, you have a right to safety, and this includes products, particularly the food products,” she said.
She said CCZ was inundated with complaints about counterfeit alcoholic beverages.
“We managed to take those for testing to the government analyst laboratories, and those (retailers) that have been found wanting have been disciplined. So we thank our Ministry of Health and Child Care for taking care of us as consumers by testing and making sure that those that are counterfeiting are taken to task. To the consumers, we at CCCZ continue to urge consumers to be very careful whenever they make decisions to purchase,” she said.
She said imports of counterfeit products are becoming a huge problem in Zimbabwe.
“This is not just a problem in Zimbabwe, it’s a global problem. In fact, here in Zimbabwe, we are lucky that we have so many regulations, so many laws, particularly the Food and Food Standards Act, the Environmental Health Act, among other acts that we have which really make sure that we do not have this problem of counterfeits. But the problem that we have is the porous borders, and sometimes we have a lot of people smuggling,” she said.
New Ziana