Shoprite in trouble over expired meat products
The Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC) on Thursday confiscated meat products from Chichiri Shoprite in Blantyre after an inspection revealed the products were expired.
The commission which is mandated to regulate, monitor, control and prevent acts or behaviours which would adversely affect competition and fair trading in Malawi says it found 15 packets of expired meat products with a brand name Citerio, 111 packets of Kapani meat products with no clear expiry date labels and 68 packets of expired Angels samosa.
It said apparently, some of the labels for the samosa had been tampered with particularly on the expiry dates.
Speaking in an interview after the exercise, CFTC’s director for consumer welfare and education Lewis Kulisewa said they have since issued an interim cease and desist order and will launch a full investigation against Shoprite and the producers.
Warned Kulisewa: “We take the issues seriously especially the tampering of the labels because this is a clear criminal offence. The products might be dangerous to human health as they fall short of our standards.”
Kapani bacon and Angel samosa are manufactured in Malawi, while Citerio Taglifresco bacon is manufactured in Italy.
The confiscation comes barely two weeks after the Ministry of Health imposed a temporary ban on importation of processed meat and meat products from South Africa following a Listeria outbreak, which has so far claimed over 200 lives there.
Both CFTC and Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) witnessed the burning of the banned meet products by major super markets in the country including Shoprite.
