The Consumer Council of Fiji is pushing for stronger regulations and immediate spot fines for businesses that continue to violate food safety standards, raising concerns over recurring unethical practices in the marketplace.

Chief Executive Seema Shandil says this is in response to a pattern of violations involving the sale of expired, damaged and substandard food products.

Shandil says currently, the Food Safety Act imposes penalties of up to $10,000 or five years of imprisonment for serious violations, such as selling adulterated food which is insufficient to deter repeat offenders.

“You know, despite receiving warning letters, despite getting abatement notice, we can see that these issues continue to recur. And it’s not that the traders or the retailers or the wholesalers are not aware of the act. It seems that they knowingly, you know, violate the act that is in place in Fiji because of the limited or the low fines or penalties that is in place.”

She says their call for stricter penalties coincides with the establishment of a national food safety task force, which is currently reviewing the Food Safety Act.

“What we can see in New Zealand and Australia, the penalties range from $100,000 to $200,000, which should be also implemented in Fiji because of the recurring issues that we have been seeing over the past years.”

Shandil says by pushing for tougher regulations and encouraging consumer vigilance they want to ensure that businesses adhere to the law and consumers are protected from unsafe practices.