‘40pc consumer products
in urban market are substandard’
KARACHI: Almost 40 per cent of consumer products in the urban market are substandard, adulterated or counterfeit while the figure exceeds 60 per cent in rural areas.
According to a survey conducted by the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) of the Helpline Trust, concerned citizens have raised the issue of the rights of consumers at national level. But, the council in its report added that the gullible citizens were still being blatantly cheated and poised by glossy and misleading advertisements due to the absence of consumer protection laws and lack of enforcement of existing food and drug laws. Due to the ‘silence of the lambs’, the consumers were being led to the slaughterhouse every day, the CPC added.
According to the results of test reports of samples drawn from the open market of cooking oils and bottled water by PSQCA, over 60 per cent did not conform to the PSQCA standards. Out of many brands of cooking oil and bottled water being openly marketed, some 45 cooking oil manufacturers and only seven bottled water manufacturers are registered with PSQCA. Most of these manufacturers do not have testing laborites, which are mandatory.
Any contravention of the PSQCA and Food Laws is punishable by fines and imprisonment, yet no action is being taken by the relevant government departments. To highlight this dangerous situation, the CPC will hold a press conference at the Press Club on Tuesday at 3:00pm. The council has requested the concerned consumers to attend and participate in the conference and get their complaints registered.
The CPC has already launched an aggressive awareness campaign against such products through print and electronic media. Under the CPC campaign, federal and provincial ministers, senior government officials, socially responsible manufacturers, City Nazim and concerned citizens were invited to participate in debates and discussions on consumer related issues.
For spreading awareness further, the CPC arranged a walk and a float was being driven through streets in different areas of the metropolis, distributing flyers on the dangers of substandard products.
As the government has failed to protect the consumers from sub-standard and counterfeit products, the CPC has planned to take direct action against such manufactures through legal action, as per the prescribed laws.
The council maintained that it had planned to continue the campaign, but without the support of media and consumers success in this way would not be achieved. It said that the complaints could also be registered at telephone 5889830 or through email: [email protected]
The CPC said that the lambs should break their silence and say ‘No to Substandard and Counterfeit Products’. The council also expressed hope that the new democratically elected govt would give more attention to the problems being faced by the consumers.