The Zambia Bureau of Standards has urged local manufacturers to obtain permit to supply licences to ensure that only and reliable products are made available to the consumers.
In statement to the media ZABS head of marketing and public relations Hazel Zulu said it was important for manufacturers to obtain licences from the the bureau because only those with licences are allowed to supply products to which compulsory standards apply.
Ms. Zulu called on manufacturers to comply saying failure to do so was a violation of the laws of Zambia.
“ZABS would like to take this opportunity to advise manufacturers that supplying products which fall under compulsory standards without a permit to supply license is a violation of the standards act, section 12, Cap 416 of the laws of Zambia. Retailers and wholesalers are also advised to only trade in registered goods by ensuring that they buy products from manufacturers that have a permit to supply from ZABS,” she said.
And Ms Zulu said ZABS carried out some surveillance and inspection of products last year.
“During a market surveillance and inspection that was undertaken by ZABS on the 30th November 2015 and 7th December 2015 in Lusaka, a total of 23 trading facilities were visited with 53 product brands being inspected. Of the 53 product brands inspected, 17 brands were found to be unregistered with the Bureau while 43 of the inspected brands were found to be inadequately labelled.
“The most common findings were a lack of batch numbers on the products, no manufacturing dates and no expiry dates. In some cases new products were found on the market despite the manufacturers not having obtained permits to supply from the Bureau,” she said.
She explained that the inspections were carried out in Kamwala trading area, town center area, Soweto market, and Avondale. Other areas inspected include Mtendere, Kaunda Square, George Compound, Makeni and Chilenje Township.
She also said products that were inspected comprised of peanut butter, detergent paste, bathing soap and fruit flavored drinks. Other products include mealie meal and wheat flour.
