By Olawunmi Ashafa
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has cautioned bakery and confectionery operators against compromising food safety or misleading consumers amid rising production costs.
The Executive Vice-Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of FCCPC, Mr Tunji Bello, gave the warning on Tuesday in Lagos at a stakeholders’ engagement with bakery and confectionery operators organised by the commission’s South-West Zonal Office.
Bello said rising costs of flour, sugar, energy, transportation, packaging, equipment and financing could put pressure on businesses, but stressed that such challenges could not justify practices capable of endangering consumers.
Bello was represented by Mrs Olubunmi Otti, South-West Zonal Coordinator, FCCPC.
“When input costs rise, businesses cannot resort to unsafe substitutes, harmful or prohibited additives, poor-quality ingredients, compromised hygiene, manipulated expiry information or other shortcuts that transfer commercial risks to consumers,” he said.
He said businesses could respond to changing economic conditions through legitimate commercial decisions, but must not deceive or endanger consumers.
The FCCPC boss also warned operators against inaccurate product claims, particularly on weight, ingredients, shelf life, allergens, storage conditions and other material information.
He said what businesses told consumers on product labels, packaging, social media, at points of sale or through conventional advertising must accurately reflect what they offered.
According to him, consumers should not be made to pay for value that has not been supplied.
Bello said the commission’s position was particularly important because bakery products were consumed daily by millions of Nigerians, including children.
He said food safety could not be sacrificed in pursuit of profit, noting that consumer protection must begin before products reached the market.
“Quality cannot simply be checked at the end of the production line. It has to be built into the entire production process,” he said.
Bello urged operators to ensure proper sourcing, storage and handling of ingredients, maintain hygienic production environments and equipment, and strengthen staff practices.
He also advised businesses to establish effective traceability systems capable of identifying affected production batches, ingredients used and the destinations of products in the event of a safety concern.
The FCCPC chief executive further urged bakers to treat consumer complaints as early warning signals rather than attacks on their businesses.
He said repeated complaints could expose problems involving defective batches, poor packaging, improper storage, problematic ingredients or discrepancies between declared and actual product weights.
Bello said manufacturers and distributors that became aware of unforeseen hazards associated with products already in the market had an obligation under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018, to notify the public and withdraw affected products.
He added that businesses must be prepared to isolate affected products, investigate problems, protect consumers, notify relevant authorities where required and take corrective action.
The FCCPC boss said effective consumer protection would also protect responsible businesses from unfair competition by operators that cut corners to gain commercial advantage.
He said the bakery and confectionery industry should compete on quality, efficiency, innovation, service and value rather than on the ability to evade consumer protection obligations.
“The FCCPC wants businesses in this sector to prosper. We want to see them expand, innovate, employ more Nigerians and build brands that endure,” Bello said.
He, however, warned that sustainable businesses depended on consumer confidence, which in turn rested on quality, safety, honesty and accountability.
Bello said the commission would continue to engage businesses constructively and provide regulatory clarity, but stressed that engagement should not be mistaken for reluctance to enforce the law.
He said the FCCPC would act within its statutory mandate where businesses exposed consumers to unsafe products, engaged in deceptive practices, disregarded applicable standards or violated consumer rights.
The executive vice-chairman challenged operators to return to their businesses and review their operations from the sourcing of ingredients to production, labelling, distribution and complaint handling.
“If I knew everything about how this product was made, would I confidently serve it to my own family?” he asked, urging operators to use the question as a practical test of their compliance culture.
Bello said building consumer trust required more than advertising, noting that confidence was earned when products matched their descriptions, quantities matched what was promised and businesses accepted responsibility when problems occurred.
He urged operators to make quality and safety part of their daily operations rather than standards they prepared to meet only when regulators visited.
He said sustained compliance would make consumers safer, strengthen responsible businesses and improve public confidence in the bakery and confectionery sector.(NAN)
Edited by Folasade Adeniran