The Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA), has called on retailers of products, especially consumables, to always ensure proper examination of the details of various commodities in order to avoid stockpiling unwholesome or expired goods.

The General Manager of the Agency, Mrs. Kemi Olugbode, who gave the warning today while speaking on the activities of LASCOPA towards ensuring food safety in the State, disclosed that some suppliers of products have been discovered to be in the habit of altering the details of their products before delivering them to retailers.

She noted that details of products are altered by unscrupulous suppliers, and sometimes the retailers themselves, to deceive their clients and portray their stock as genuine and unexpired.

Continuing, she said that the Monitoring and Enforcement Team of LASCOPA recently discovered that a supermarket displayed a brand of Listerine mouth wash which had expired in July 2019 but doctored the date to read July 2020 in order to deceive unsuspecting consumers.

While maintaining that any form of deception and unfair trade practice will not be acceptable or tolerated in Lagos State, Mrs. Olugbode said that her Agency is determined to get to the root of the matter by carrying out further investigations.

She, therefore, called on suppliers, retailers and all those involved in the production and supply chain of consumable products to be alive to their responsibilities by ensuring that only safe and wholesome products are displayed for sale.

The General Manager also warned that LASCOPA would not hesitate to invoke the necessary law, to ensure that defaulters are brought to book in order to adequately protect consumers’ rights in the State.