The Consumer Council of Fiji is urging people to properly check product packaging for small holes when buying items such as rice and lentils/pulses.
CEO, Seema Shandil says they have discovered that many supermarkets are jabbing certain packaging for the ease of storage in their shops and bulks.
Shandil says such products are packed in an air-tight manner for a particular reason.
She says during the investigations, supermarket workers informed the Council that the product packaging is being jabbed to maximize efficient displays and to ensure higher volume of the product can easily be stacked on each other.
Shandil says consumer complaints and subsequent surveys by the Council has also revealed that pest infestation was a common occurrence in some supermarkets and retail outlets.
The Council’s CEO says this, coupled with jabbed product packaging could provide an ideal environment for product contamination.
Shandil adds the Council has flagged the issue of jabbed product packaging to the Ministry of Health and is requesting for prompt investigation into the matter.
