Consumer Council Chief Executive Seema Shandil. [Photo: FILE]

The Consumer Council has uncovered more than 200 breaches during the intensified festive season market surveillance, raising serious concerns about pricing accuracy and compliance among supermarkets nationwide.

Consumer Council Chief Executive Seema Shandil says since 1 August, the Council has conducted over 1,100 market surveillance inspections across supermarkets, retail outlets, open markets, eateries, and service providers.

She says of the 297 supermarket inspections carried out, 222 cases of non-compliance were identified.

These included price discrepancies between shelf and checkout prices, missing price tags, misleading advertisements, and violations of price control regulations.

Shandil says the breaches have become more pronounced during the festive period, when shopping activity increases, and consumers are often in a rush.

“So the pattern that we are observing, you know, looks like it is deliberate. The practices are deliberate. And it appears that some retailers are banking on consumer haste and the holiday distraction to boost their profits at the expense of the hardworking Fijian families. So this is not just unethical, it erodes the very foundation of trust our marketplace relies upon.”

She adds that the Council has also identified food safety concerns, including the sale of expired items, dented or rusty cans, poor storage practices, overcrowded freezers, and pest presence in some supermarkets.

They are all recurring issues, and despite knowing that this is illegal or certain requirements are there as per the Food Safety Act, yet we see supermarkets breaching this act.

The Suva Retailers Association is also calling on its members to comply with the regulations.

The Consumer Council is working closely with enforcement agencies, including health inspectors and the Price Monitoring and Enforcement Taskforce, to address the violations.

Consumers have been urged to remain vigilant by watching the scanner at checkout, checking receipts before leaving stores, and reporting any discrepancies immediately.

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