Xmas is here, be wary of rotten food!

The persistent sale of expired and unwholesome food items in Lesotho is a burgeoning public health concern as foreign-owned businesses, particularly Chinese and Indians, take advantage of the country’s inadequate regulations and lax enforcement measures to sell outdated products to consumers.

As the Christmas holidays descend upon the country, the streets are adorned with twinkling lights and the aroma of festive treats wafts through the air.

But beneath the merry façade, a disturbing problem has cast a shadow over the joyous season-expired goods being sold in foreign-owned shops across the country, posing a serious threat to the health and safety of unsuspecting consumers.

It is in the face of the Christmas season’s festive allure and excitement, that these businessmen are taking advantage of the heightened demand for food.

With Basotho often buying items in large quantities, either individually or as part of stokvels, the shops’ disregard for food safety regulations has put consumers at great risk.

The absence of clear laws and regulations to address this issue has left consumers vulnerable to potential health hazards, putting their health and safety at risk.

The president of the Consumer Protection Association, Nkareng Letsie, says the absence of strict laws regulating the maximum shelf life of products in the country is a major concern for consumers.

Letsie indicated that without a clear legal framework to address the practices, “we are essentially fighting a losing battle”.

“It is impossible for relevant stakeholders like inspectors to take effective legal action against these foreign-owned businesses when there is no legal tool to hold them accountable, even though we all know that this is putting the health and safety of Basotho consumers at risk,” Letsie added.

He explained that the Public Health Order No.12 of 1970, which is the only existing legal tool in Lesotho, falls short of addressing the full scope of the issue as it only covers goods that pose an immediate risk to human health. It does not provide any guidance on expired products that may not cause immediate harm but could still pose long-term health risks.

This, he said, means that even if a product is past its expiration date, businesses can continue to sell it without any sustainable consequences as long as it doesn’t pose an immediate danger.

The law provides for the protection of public health and also concerns in some sections, food hygiene and water protection and nuisances.

It also defines what constitutes a nuisance and provides for corrective action by health officers. As for the protection of foodstuffs, the Order provides rules for the storage of foodstuffs and prohibits the sale of food for human consumption in a tainted, adulterated, diseased or unwholesome state, or which is unfit for human consumption.

It also prohibits sale of any food for any animal which is in an unwholesome state or unfit for its use.

No person shall collect, prepare, manufacture, keep, transmit or expose for sale any foodstuffs without taking adequate measures to guard against or prevent any infection or contamination thereof, according to the Order.

Letsie emphasised the need for swift legislative action to protect Basotho consumers from dangerous and deceptive practices.

“Parliament must enact laws that hold businesses accountable for the quality and safety of the products they sell. Our country needs to adopt strict regulations that clearly define what constitutes expired goods and what the consequences are for businesses that break these rules,” he said.

Letsie noted that the government also needs to step up its enforcement efforts to ensure that new laws are being followed.

He expressed optimism about the potential impact of the Consumer Protection Bill of 2024, which is currently being considered by parliament.

“The Consumer Protection Bill holds significant promise for safeguarding consumers in Lesotho. If enacted into law, it will provide a much-needed legal framework to address deceptive and harmful practices by businesses,” Letsie pointed out.

As authorities conduct repeated inspections countrywide, it has become increasingly clear that many businesses continue to disregard food safety regulations, placing profit before public wellbeing.

In an effort to ensure that businesses are operating in compliance with consumer standards and laws, a collaborative inspection team comprised of the Maseru District Administrator, Tšepo Lethobane, representatives from the ministries of health, trade, industry and business development, Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) and the National Security Services (NSS) has embarked on a joint inspection initiative.

The inspection is part of the data collection exercise spearheaded by the ministry of trade, industry and business development to keep records of how many businesses owned by Basotho verses those owned by foreigners.

According to Lethobane, the inspection that commence last week and expected to end on Friday next week aims to verify that businesses in the district are upholding the appropriate consumer standards and laws, ensuring that the public is protected from any potential hazards and unethical business practices.

While the inspection may be the latest in a string of efforts to combat expired food sales in the city district, the problem seems to be persistent countrywide.

Despite previous inspections that led to the closure of shops selling expired goods, it appears that these shops have simply reopened and continued to sell expired food items, indicating a troubling trend of non-compliance with food safety regulations.

Lethobane highlighted three alarming issues plaguing the food industry in Maseru district. Firstly, he says expired food products, with some well past their expiry dates, were discovered in many of the Chinese-owned shops.

Secondly, inadequate storage conditions with some food items being exposed to direct sunlight, which can cause spoilage and deteriorate the quality of the products.

Thirdly, the special promotions offered by some shop owners have been leveraged as a means to entice consumers, who are already struggling financially to purchase potentially harmful products.

Adding to the concerns over expired goods and poor storage conditions, Lethobane observed, some shops were found to be repackaging expired goods, blending them with fresh products in an attempt to conceal their expiry date and deceive buyers.

“This deceptive practice not only undermines the integrity of these businesses but also puts the health of consumers at risk, as they are unknowingly purchasing potentially harmful products,” Lethobane added.

The deceptive practice undermines the trust between businesses and consumers and also raises questions about the government’s ability to effectively enforce food safety regulations and protect the public’s health and wellbeing.

‘Mamoreboli Sefako, a resident of Maputsoe Ha ‘Mathata became a victim of this decisive practice when she purchased a variety of goods from a local supermarket earlier this year.

Among items she purchased were three bags of a 1kg cake flour, tin fish, which she later discovered had past their expiry date.

“By the time I opened the flour, preparing to bake, I immediately noticed that the cake flour had threats like clusters. I became curious and checked the expiry date of the tin fishes and noticed that it had been a month and two weeks they had expired,” Sefako explained.

After the experience, Sefako says she lost all trust in Chinese-owned shops and stopped buying from them.

“These Chinese know that many of us are struggling financially, so they target us with these low prices and sell us expired goods. They are taking advantage of our situation and our trust.

“We may not have a lot of money, but that doesn’t mean we should be treated like second-class citizens. We deserve to have access to safe, fresh food just like anyone else. The government needs to step in and put an end to these practices before someone gets seriously ill or worse,” she added.

Sefako pleaded with the government to take swift, decisive action to safeguard Basotho consumers from the dangers of such products, to strengthen regulations and enforce stricter penalties on the businesses engaging in the harmful practice.