Pretoria - The National Regulator for Compulsory Specification (NRCS) has urged the public to be on the lookout and report short massed products following the discovery of a company that was selling bread that is underweight.
"We want to warn consumers to be vigilant and if they have any suspicions we urge them to contact our offices," NRCS CEO Moses Moeletsi told reporters on Wednesday.
The NRCS is mandated to regulate products on behalf of government such as vehicle components and others in the interest of public safety and to ensure fair trade. It also regulates all types of perishable goods.
Moeletsi's comments come two weeks after the NRCS seized vast amounts of Baked for You loaves of bread that were sold short of the declared weight of 600 grams. This was discovered during routine inspections in Wellington in the Western Cape.
The bread by Baked for You (which has been caught for a second time selling underweight bread) packed in bags declaring them to weigh 600 grams were found on average to weigh 429 grams. The company was further found to have produced bread that was non compliant in terms of its labeling. It also did not have the address of the supplier.
"We cannot sit while unscrupulous businesses take advantage," said Moeletsi adding that the company also operated in KwaZulu-Natal.
According to the Trade Metrology Act of 1973, bread deficiency cannot be less than 5 percent of the declared quantity or in excess of 10 percent. Any bread weighing above 400 grams and multiples of 100s should be marked. The regulator however said that it was cognizant that errors do occur, adding that such deficiencies run into millions of rands that consumers loose.
Moeletsi said that drastic steps would be taken to ensure that producers comply with the act. "Legal action will be taken ... this is serious violation of not only consumers but the law," he said, adding that such practices appear to be spreading across the country. Criminal charges against the bread producer have since been instituted.
Three years ago, the regulator conducted a nationwide survey that showed that some bread producers were not compliant with the law. The NRCS said executive legal metrology at the regulator, Katima Themba, will conduct another survey in the next four to six months.
The NRCS is in the process of reviewing the Trade Metrology Act in particular around sanctions. This is to ensure that the Act imposes harsh sentences that will compel people to be compliant.
"We are in talks with government to tighten laws," said Moeletsi, adding that there was also a need to train more metrologists as there were only 80 in the country.
The Baked For You producers are likely to walk away from the case with a fine, said the CEO, adding that the company has been operating for a number of years.
