[File Photo]

A prominent supermarket in Nausori town has been found retailing products with tampered expiry dates.

This was found during routine market surveillance by the Consumer Council of Fiji.

Chief Executive, Seema Shandil says the supermarket in question was selling wafers biscuits at one dollar.

However, when inspected, Shandil says the expiry date for the product could not be discovered.

She adds initial investigation revealed the supermarket used chemicals to intentionally tamper with the expiry dates.

The Council has flagged this case to the Nausori Town Council and Ministry of Health and expects stringent actions to ensure consumers’ right to safety is held paramount.

Shandil says the Council is stumped with the blatant disregard of food safety laws by the supermarket and the sheer negligence being exhibited just for the sake of making a profit.

She stressed food and drinks have expiry dates for a purpose which is to ensure that it is safe for consumption.

However, Shandil says the supermarket in question does not seem to care about the repercussions of its actions on consumers’ health.

She says there is no acceptable excuse for having expired products on supermarket shelves and internal procedures must be put in place by supermarkets to ensure this never eventuates.