The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has ordered the withdrawal of consumer goods that do not comply with mandatory labelling requirements, following a BusinessDay investigation that exposed how repackaged expired products dominate Nigeria’s trade markets.
The commission, in a statement on Wednesday, directed manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers to recover from the markets goods without production dates, expiry or best-before dates, batch numbers, or manufacturer details.
BusinessDay Investigations exposed how expired, near-expiry, rejected, and damaged packaged food products could enter informal markets after their original packaging and identifying information had been removed.
Reacting to the investigation, FCCPC said non-compliant products in circulation also included goods without ingredient lists, allergen information, country of origin, and other mandatory labelling information.
The commission said such practices violate consumers’ right to the information required to make informed purchasing decisions and could expose them to significant health, safety and economic risks.
