By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The consumer watchdog’s chairman says he has “absolutely” seen an improvement relating to expired product on food store shelves as inspectors conducted follow-up visits to several Nassau outlets yesterday.

Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) inspectors conducted checks at several large supermarket chains, including AML Foods’ Solomon’s Fresh Market brand and Super Value, during Sunday shopping when many outlets experience their heaviest weekly traffic.

Senator Randy Rolle, the Commission’s chairman, said its checks will be “ongoing and consistent” as the agency works with companies to resolve consumer complaints. Grocery stores were targeted by the watchdog earlier this month for having food products on the shelves past their expiry, or sell-by, dates and not placing expiration dates on baked goods.

Since the complaints were brought to food stores’ attention, Mr Rolle said he has “absolutely” seen an improvement and yesterday’s store visits also allowed the Commission’s inspectors to have meaningful dialogue with consumers.

“We are happy with what we saw today and, talking to the store managers, they’re very compliant where there’s a concern, and so it strengthens the relationship,” said Mr Rolle.

“The visit today gave the inspectors an opportunity to not only look at some of the products and quality of goods, but it allowed consumers to share their concerns and they were delighted to see the team at work. It was good to see the level of engagement today, being a big shopping day, and we want to continue this dialogue with the consumer.”

Mr Rolle encouraged Bahamians to continue to be “smart consumers” and check for expiration dates prior to making purchases. He said the Government is “very committed” to ensuring consumers are able to resolve their grievances with companies that sell defective goods, and the $117,000 that his agency was able to recover for shoppers over the past year should demonstrate there is a path to resolving their concerns.

“The more that we express our concerns and people are able to see the CPC, the better. The consumers are going to win when they get better quality and better products. People will start to produce better work when they understand the expectations, and we educate the general public on how to become smarter consumers,” said Mr Rolle.

“At the end of the day, if there is a dispute, it’s an easier path to resolving these disputes so they know what to look for. They understand how to deal with redress and, hopefully, this $117,000 worth of recovery that Consumer Protection obtained this past year would be able to benefit consumers.

“The Government has been very responsive and very committed. The Ministry of Finance is very committed to making sure we have the resources necessary to make sure that we provide the services that the agency is mandated to provide.”

Debra Symonette, Super Value’s president, said the grocery store chain is working with the Consumer Protection Commission to ensure consumer complaints are resolved. She said staff “constantly” check shelves for expired items, and they are doing their best to ensure the stock is rotated and all products are labelled and priced correctly.

“We’re constantly checking prices, the tags on the shelves, and looking for expired items. We’re doing our best to keep up with that, and I don’t know of any major issues that they’ve found,” said Ms Symonette.

“We’ve always had measures in place to check for expired goods. We have people specifically for that. They’re just constantly checking the shelves for that type of thing. They do whatever they have to do and, if they find anything, they take care of it.”