The Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) has confiscated expired drinks valued at K5,785 in Choma.

In a statement, ZABS Head of Marketing and Public Relations Hazel Zulu warned traders to desist from selling products which did not conform to the set standards.

“ZABS has served a product rejection notice to three shops in Choma, Southern Province for selling expired drinks valued at K5,785.00…The flavoured drinks which have been subsequently seized include 99 cases of Coca-Cola, and 7 loose bottles of King-cola all valued at K5, 785.00. The drinks were confiscated in accordance with the requirements of Zambian Standards ZS 203 for carbonated soft drinks and ZS 554 for fruit flavoured drinks. The Coca-Cola expired on 27th February 2017 while the King-Cola expired on the 14th of February 2017. The drinks were confiscated from Pano Chalo distributors, Beenzu Grocery and Yesuka Bar, all of Choma town. This was discovered during a routine market surveillance and inspection that was conducted by ZABS inspectors on 3rd April 2017 to check levels of compliance on regulated products,” Zulu stated.

She also encouraged consumers to be alert before purchasing any products.

“ZABS would like to warn traders to desist from selling products that do not conform to the set standards or that are beyond their shelf life as it is a risk to the health and safety of consumers. Traders are further advised to employ an effective stock rotation schedule to ensure that products are sold on a first-in-first-out basis to avoid keeping products beyond the expiry date. ZABS would further like to encourage consumers to be alert and vigilant and always look out for critical information on a product packaging such as the expiry date, the manufacturing date, and the batch number before making a purchase,” stated Zulu.

She further assured the public of the Bureau’s continued market surveillance and inspection to ensure that consumers were protected from defective and harmful products.