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In a sweeping enforcement action, the National Consumer Commission (NCC) has issued Compliance Notices to 33 suppliers in the Free State, uncovering serious lapses in food safety and regulatory adherence.
This revealed a growing concern about the adequacy of food safety practices and the effectiveness of regulatory enforcement.
NCC said one of the main findings from the investigation were suppliers selling basic foodstuffs which were perishable items that had either long past their sell-by date or had no shelf-life or date markings affixed on them.
“Providing two months warranty on goods as opposed to a six months warranty as provided for in the Consumer Protection Act, particularly solar panels, UPS, batteries, solar lights and inverters,” it said.
“Issuing sales records indicating no refund, no exchange or return on goods and generally lopsided terms and conditions favouring suppliers.”
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NCC’s acting commissioner Hardin Ratshisusu said where food items had expired, the supplier was required to remove the goods from the shelves and destroy them.
“Suppliers who fail to comply with the Compliance Notices will be referred to the National Consumer Tribunal, where the commission will demand an administrative penalty of R1 million or 10% of the supplier’s annual turnover,” he said.
Ratshisusu said there have been reports of fatalities due to the alleged consumption of unsafe food products purchased at some retailers.
Janusz Luterek, consumer attorney from Hahn and Hahn Attorneys, noted crucial insight into the legal aspects of food labelling.
According to Luterek, the foodstuffs, cosmetics and disinfectants Act and Regulation R146 did not prescribe exact durations for “best before” or “use by” dates.
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“Instead, it is the responsibility of manufacturers to ensure that products remain safe and of acceptable quality until the specified dates,” he said.
“Durability dates such as ‘best before’ and ‘use by’ are determined through scientific stability testing. Manufacturers conduct tests to see how a product’s quality and safety change over time under various conditions and set these dates accordingly,” he said.
NCC said suppliers repackaged items such as rice, mealie meal, baby formula and nuts, into small packages, where these repackaged items are not labelled.
Sunley Nigel, a food science consultant from Sunley Consulting, called for broader enforcement challenges.
He said despite having comprehensive legislation, enforcing food safety regulations often fell short due to fragmented processes and under-resourced municipal authorities.
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