The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has issued fourteen (14) Compliance Notices to suppliers of non-compliant goods. Twelve (12) of these suppliers are based in the Western Cape, and one each in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces. These suppliers have mainly contravened section 24 of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA).

With respect to the Western Cape, the NCC conducted market monitoring inspections in the City of Cape Town, where forty (40) suppliers were inspected. Of these inspected suppliers, twelve (12) have been issued with Compliance Notices, and twenty-three (23) are being further investigated. In these inspections, the NCC’s found inconsistencies with labelling requirements where suppliers did not properly label the goods or affix ingredients on the packaging.

Failure to label goods in accordance with the CPA contravenes section 24 read with Regulation 6. Section 24 of the CPA provides that a “trade description must be applied to the goods or any covering, label or in or on reel, or which goods are packaged or attached to the goods. Trade description must include the country of origin and any other prescribed information.”

In addition to these matters, the NCC is finalising investigations from inspections conducted in Limpopo, Gauteng, Northern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal.

The NCC’s Acting Commissioner Mr. Hardin Ratshisusu said: “From the concluded investigations, the NCC found that consumers continue to be exposed to unsafe foodstuffs and most suppliers do not comply with the provisions of the CPA. The NCC continues to prioritise cases of expired and unsafe foodstuffs.”

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Issued by: National Consumer Commission (NCC)
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