Illicit imports including counterfeit products, expired foodstuffs and commodities without statutory labelling are finding their way onto the market in Zimbabwe as unscrupulous businesspeople cash in on lax controls at border posts to smuggle substandard goods putting the health of unsuspecting consumers at risk.

Attracted by the apparently low prices of some of commodities consumers often overlook taking measures like checking expiry dates of perishables only to realise that the price they paid was not-so-cheap after all.

“I have noticed that some of tinned foods I bought from local supermarkets have passed their sell by date. I wonder how renowned supermarkets stock expired products,” said Amanda Mwemba, a Harare-based consumer

The prices of some of the goods often set buyers wondering if they are real.“I always ask myself why these foodstuffs are so cheap,” said Kanganwirai Madombwe, a father of two. “They have the same labels with that those sold in the supermarkets. I suspect something is wrong but we cannot afford to buy quality foodstuffs.”

Informal traders said they import the foodstuffs for a song hence the low street price.
“Imagine a can of drink imported from South Africa is much cheaper than the one produced here. We import them at cheap price and we honestly don’t care about the health risk or the standards. What we want is just to make a living,” said a vendor who sells the beverages at Jambanja Market in Chitungwiza.

Some of the expired products are repackaged and sold directly to consumers or supplied to tuck shops that have resurfaced.
Investigations showed that unscrupulous business people are taking advantage of the long process in food safety control to import and sell expired foodstuffs.

Some of the imported beverages though very cheap are said to be have high acid concentration posing a serious risk to the consumers.
Food safety control is a shared responsibility among various government departments and ministries of Health and Child Welfare, Lands and Agriculture, Industry and Commerce, local authorities and the consumer.

The Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) said it has also developed standards for the quality of food being sold in the country.
Sebastian Zuze from SAZ said the authority was working with Food Standards Advisory Board standards, while the board was the regulator.

Tonnes of chickens from South Africa find their way to Zimbabwe to make up for the shortages of poultry products in the country.
Zimbabwe has a new Food Control Act to curb and control the influx of cheap foodstuffs from neighbouring countries but the law is being flouted everyday as vendors who have flooded city pavements sell cheap and often illegal imports.

Under the law, retailers are fined for selling expired foodstuffs on the market, but the authorities appeared overwhelmed by the numbers of the traders dealing in illegal commodities.

The watchdog Consumer Council of Zimbabwe together with relevant authorities occasionally raid shops to see if they are adhering to the set rules and violators often get away with a slap on the wrist.

Consumer Council of Zimbabwe regional manager for Matabeleland, Comfort Muchekeza said the introduction of the new law was a welcome development.
“We would also urge that the fines imposed on culprits be not be confined to retail premises, but cascade to the manufactures,” he said.

It has also emerged that while CCZ targets retail shops, the main culprits are informal traders unwittingly selling illegal goods in the open.In terms of normal industry practice, expired food products have to be removed from shelves and destroyed. This is done to protect the wellbeing of consumers and the reputation of the brands.

Chief Government analyst David Nhari said government has been regulating food supply in the country but acknowledged that the introduction of Economic Structural Adjustment Programme created a huge informal sector in the food industry.
“Food safety and quality control provides programmes to ensure that food available for consumption is safe, contaminant and disease-free to protect and promote the health of the nation. It enhances food trade, reduces food losses, and prevents dumping of hazardous or otherwise substandard food from unscrupulous traders within and from outside our borders. Food control is even more important for Zimbabwe with an agro-based economy providing livelihood for over 70% of the population.

“The introduction of ESAP in 1990 saw the emergence of a huge informal food trade sector, which resulted in greater demands on the food control regulatory systems. The emergence of new technologies for food production and processing, such as food irradiation and use of genetically modified organisms for foods have raised safety concerns by consumers which food control scientists must address.
“For our participation in the global food trade under World Trade Organization (WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreements and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) food standards programme to be effective, there must be a proactive food control system,” he said.

There have been concerns that most imported food items, especially meat products from South Africa, would have expired, therefore posing a health hazard to consumers.
“We know of the dangers posed by consuming expired foodstuffs but at the end of the day the family needs to eat and survive,” said family man, Oscar Muyeriswa.

Medical doctor Mlungisi Ndebele said people should desist from consuming expired and poor foods as it caused serious health standards.
“Some of the beverages pose serious health dangers as they have high acidity. This may lead to different types of cancers. The meats are also dangerous because some of them are embalmed with dangerous chemicals,” he said.
Zimbabwe’s economy has been on a downturn which has has seen its import bill ballooning over the years because the manufacturing industry is operating far below its capacity.

By Problem Masau