The Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards (SLBS) is actively implementing its market surveillance program, in accordance with the Standards Act 14 of 1990 (Chapter 13.25) and the Standards Regulations, across various retail outlets and supermarkets on the island.
This initiative aims to ensure compliance with compulsory labelling standards, safeguard consumer interests, and promote fair trade practices.
Market surveillance inspectors conduct thorough inspections at local retail locations, where they identify themselves to store managers and present their SLBS Inspector ID.
During these inspections, any nonconforming products are promptly brought to the attention of the store manager, followed by a formal notification outlining the specific products in breach of the established standards.
According to Part 4, Clause 32 (a and b) of the Standards Act, it is illegal to sell or offer for sale any goods, services, or processes that do not conform to declared compulsory standards. This includes any failure to label, package, or advertise goods in compliance with these standards.
Retailers found with nonconforming products are required to remove these items from shelves and implement corrective actions.
Common label non-conformities identified during inspections include:
- Absence of a label
- Label only presented in a foreign language
- Missing best before or batch numbers
- Lack of country-of-origin information
- Absence of manufacturer’s name and address
- Incorrect declaration of net content
To assist businesses and interested parties in meeting these standards, the SLBS will host a virtual labelling workshop on Wednesday November 13th, 2024.
This workshop will address labelling requirements for both food and non-food products. Interested participants can register for the workshop on the SLBS website: www.slbs.org.
The SLBS remains committed to enhancing the quality of goods and services in Saint Lucia while ensuring that consumers are protected, and businesses operate compliant to the existing regulatory framework.
SOURCE: Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards
So who is monitoring the supermarkets and safeguarding us the consumers and tax payers from those Ridiculously high product prices they put on their good…..
If anyone thinks the prices of goods and services are going to return to pre covid levels then you do not understand how inflation works. Resources are finite and the population keeps growing, meaning the piece of the pie is constantly shrinking. In a properly functioning system, productivity and wages go up to styme the negative effects of inflation. The government should do a better job of explaining things like this and also stop wasting the country’s resources. Additionally, targeting companies which employ predatory practices can help bring down prices to a fair level but has the ministry of commerce kept a record of prices across the board? How do they know which items are being artificially inflated, what are they comparing to? Will the government go against the interests business of the owners, their friends, the elite, the same folks who are part of the commerce board?
@I await and watch November 9, 2024 At 9:51 am
Nobody. Supply v demand. As long as y’all keep going nad buy those high priced items the supermarkets will keep the prices high. Stop buying crap you don’t need stick to necessities, or find substitutes and see how fast prices come down. Y’all are your own worst enemy.
it should also be incognito and unannounced. then after finding the information, the badge, identification is presented. Or a report made to head office which then comes to the establishment with their findings and evidence in this age of phones and other communication tools everywhere
Take an example of the labor department…