The Consumer watchdog is urging people to be vigilant when they do their Diwali shopping.

Consumer Council’s chief executive, Seema Shandil says people have already started with their Diwali shopping which will be celebrated in 2 weeks’ time.

Shandil says in previous years, cases of expired food products, low quality of vegetables and fruits being sold and misleading advertisements were some recorded cases.

“Diwali festive is approaching. There is a lot of hype and consumers will be bombarded with a lot of promotions and a lot of discounts. So we are advising the consumers to be frugal, be a smart shopper, don’t get swayed away or don’t get enticed with all the specials with words that say ‘last day’ or ‘don’t miss out’ or ‘unbelievable prices”.

The council says they are keeping a close tab on traders and their officers are out monitoring the prices during this busy festive season.