Selling expired, fake products continues in the north
Selling expired, fake products continues in the north
The sale of fake and expired goods mixed with other products is still a common occurrence in Luang Namtha province in the north of Laos, despite the authorities carrying out constant inspections.
Consumers must be careful when choosing consumables because they could pose a health risk for them.
Industry and Commerce Department Director in Luang Namtha province, Mr Phonexay Chanthasone, told Vientiane Times last week that the provincial authority constantly monitors and inspects products in markets once a month to protect consumers.
Every time officials go to check the markets they find expired and fake products. Most of them are insecticides, cooking ingredients, foods, especially frozen seafood, snacks, teas and coffees.
Mr Phonexay said that sometimes they will conduct inspections twice a week if there is a report from a concerned citizen. The industry and commerce department in cooperation with the departments of agricultural and forestry, health, science and technology will carry out the inspections.
This fiscal year 2014-15, the authorities seized 290 kilos of fake monosodium glutamate under the Spool brand name with a total value of 50.2 million kip and expired tea and coffee at a value of 42.4 million kip. In addition, they also found some expired medicines.
The authorities destroyed all the expired and fake products and foods.
Goods that are supplied in the province come from two main sources. One is from China, with which the province shares a border, and the other from Thailand which is one of the major trading partners of Laos.
According to the provincial Industry and Commerce Department, last fiscal year 2013-14, the provincial authorities inspected and found some imported products and foods that were fake such as frozen seafood, tobacco and herbicides with a total value of 67.6 million kip. The expired goods were powdered milk, milk, snacks and cooking ingredients to a value of 31 million kip.
According to the Law on Food, which was promulgated on June 14, 2004, particularly Article 34 about the prohibitions on the import and distribution of food, it is prohibited to import or distribute food that is unsafe, of [unacceptable] quality or standard, or inconsistent with the laws and regulations on food of the Lao PDR, such as contaminated food, adulterated food, deteriorated food, counterfeit food, perished food, unlabelled food or food whose quality has not been certified, except for fresh food that does not require labelling, such as meat, fish, crabs, mussels, and fresh fruits. It is also prohibited to import food whose consumption date has nearly expired.
It is prohibited to distribute food using methods that are inconsistent with the laws and regulations on food of the Lao PDR, such as in open boxes or packages, or dividing up food from its original container, which could cause the food to become unsafe, contaminated, adulterated or dried, to deteriorate or lose quality, or to become counterfeit food or perished food.
The provincial authority has used some measures on violators such as re-education and fines of between 200,000 and 500,000 kip per person for the first time wrongdoer, Mr Phonexay said.
According to the law, there are many measures to take with violators according to each case, such as re-education, fines, civil measures and criminal sanctions.
