[Photo: FILE]
The Consumer Council of Fiji is calling for stronger enforcement powers and legislative reforms to address persistent non-compliance issues.
Chief Executive, Seema Shandil, says the organization primarily ensures compliance through market surveillance, warning letters, mediation, public awareness campaigns and referrals to regulatory agencies.
However, the Council does not possess direct authority to prosecute offenders or issue fines.
“We have no direct power to fine or prosecute, so whilst we do our market surveillances, what we do is we try to identify issues. When issues are identified, we issue warning letters, and we go back to do follow-up surveillances.”
When questioned about whether there were sufficient remedies when repeated warning letters and regulatory notices failed to produce results, Shandil says that in those instances, they go back to the regulators and have discussions on the issue.
Shandil confirms that both the Public Health Act and Food Safety Act are currently under review, with proposed amendments expected to strengthen penalties against repeat offenders.
