By Stellamaries Amuwa, Abuja
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has sealed off a major super market in Abuja known as 4U Supermarket along Ademola Adetokunbo Crescent, Wuse II, for selling fake foreign bags of rice filled with weevils, expired supplements, drinks and products, at the branch.
According to the Acting Executive/Vice-Chairman FCCPC, Adamu Ahmed Abudullahi, “that was part of the measures to protect consumers from sharp practices of some supermarkets in the country.
“The seal-off was as a result of the deceptive actions of the management of 4U Supermarket by hiding the affected rice at it’s headquarters.
“Some staff members of the supermarket were caught pulling off the expiry dates of some of the products”
Meanwhile, about 94 bags of rice was evacuated in the two branches of supermarket at Wuse 2 in Abuja. The affected products are 5kg and 10kg of Caprice and Royal Stallion rice, which were produced in August 2022 and on October 2022 respectively, and are expected to expire in 2027.
The price displayed on the weevil-laden 10kg bags of rice was N19,000 each.
Abudullahi who led the raid, said Caprice and Stallion rice were still stocked and being sold in the supermarket years after the companies have stopped production.
He noted that the integrity of products being sold at 4U Supermarket could no longer be guaranteed, thereby exposing consumers to unsafe products. He also said some people re-bag local rice as if they were foreign rice to deceive people.
He added, “this is in continuation of our efforts to ensure that prices in the market reflects what is displayed.
“Nowadays, we have found out that there is a lot of pretense in what is happening especially in markets around the major cities in the country.
“When you go to the shelf, the product displayed is different from what appears when you come to pay at the counter and you know doing so is not acceptable, because it is frisking consumers, and some of the buyers don’t even have prices attached to them at all.
“None of the workers is aware that Stallion group has stopped production for a very long time”.
He reiterated his resolve to work hard and ensure that food and other commodity prices come down in the country.
Meanwhile, the General manager of the Supermarket, Yunusa Yusuf took responsibility for the infraction and promised to expose the suppliers.
He however pledged to henceforth abide by FCCPC regulations on consumer rights to avoid recurrence.
