By Ayorinde Oluokun
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has directed all manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers to immediately withdraw any consumer goods that do not comply with applicable labelling requirements from market across the country.
The FCCPC said this in a statement on Wednesday while expressing concern about what it described as increasing circulation, distribution, and sale of consumer goods that do not comply with prevailing standards and regulations governing product labelling.
FCCPC said this was revealed through its market surveillance, routine inspections, and quality assurance activities.
According to the Commission, the surveillance also revealed the prevalence of products bearing misleading or deceptive information in circulation.
It added that products without production dates, expiry or best-before dates, batch numbers, manufacturer details, ingredient lists, allergen information, country of origin, and other mandatory labelling information were also discovered.
The Commission noted in the statement that it is mandated to promote consumer safety by ensuring strict adherence to labelling requirements in line with applicable standards set by competent regulatory authorities, including the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), among others.`
It noted that deceptive, incomplete, or misleading product labelling violates consumers’ right to the information required to make informed purchasing decisions and may expose them to significant health, safety, and economic risks.
“Accordingly, the Commission directs all manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers to immediately review their inventories and withdraw from sale any consumer goods that do not comply with applicable labelling requirements. Businesses that continue to distribute or sell non-compliant products risk appropriate regulatory enforcement action,” FCCPC said
It also advised consumers to carefully examine product labels before purchase and avoid products with missing, illegible, altered, misrepresented, or poor-quality labels, as well as those bearing false claims or misleading information.
“Suspected cases of non-compliance should be reported promptly through the Commission’s official complaint channels
“The FCCPC will continue to strengthen nationwide market surveillance and enforcement activities in collaboration with relevant regulatory authorities to ensure compliance and enhance consumer protection.
