By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The Consumer Protection Commission’s chairman yesterday asserted it was “mind blowing” that the watchdog verified complaints about expired grocery products on store shelves are correct.

Senator Randy Rolle said the findings from store visits by Commission staff uncovered that several products were either past or nearing their sell-by dates. He added that food store operators, who were not identified, said their staff are supposed to check the shelves on a daily basis for goods nearing expiration, but some were overlooked.

“It actually was mind blowing, because we’re finding out that the concerns and consumer complaints are legitimate,” said Mr Rolle. “We had an opportunity to speak with some of the providers, and most of them have shelf staff that are supposed to - on a daily basis - check products that are outdated and remove them from the shelves, but some of them caught in between products.”

Mr Rolle explained that the Commission is concerned about stores selling expired goods as this poses a potential health risk to the Bahamian public and violates the Food Safety and Quality Act. He added that several pensioners have mistakenly purchased expired goods when doing their monthly grocery shopping, thus creating a food safety hazard for a vulnerable population segment and eating into their fixed budget.

“Our concern is especially for senior citizens who collect their pension cheques at the end of month and they go do their shopping. We want to make sure that they’re getting value for money,” said Mr Rolle.

“Our role as consumer protection is to look out for the rights of consumers, straight across the board. One of the eight consumer rights is protection of safety. We make checks on that basis to ensure that we can still keep an eye out on things, as these things have the potential to make people sick and that’s concerning.”

Mr Rolle said the Commission will work with grocery stores to ensure they take consumer complaints seriously, and will continue to educate the public on their rights so retailers can he held accountable when they violate them.

“We have regular updates with the grocery stores. We will be in communication with management to try and see how best we can get them to keep the concerns of the consumers at the forefront of everything they do,” said Mr Rolle.

“It’s going to take building relationships with these providers, and continuing to educate consumers on their rights; what they should look out for, provide safety tips and ask them to read the fine print.”

Mr Rolle said during the visits it was also noted that some store scales were not calibrated correctly, leading to incorrect weight measurements on purchases. “We looked at some stores, and we saw that some scales that were off. For example, you could go in a store and they say two pounds of grapes are for $6, but it’s only really one pound,” he added.

“We’re asking consumers to check for these things, and the more we work on educating consumers, I think the better it’s going to be for everyone involved. We want smart consumers who know their rights.”

Mr Rolle said the Commission will continue to work with other government agencies, such as the Ministry of Health and Bahamas Bureau of Standards and Quality (BBSQ), to ensure consumers have a positive shopping experience especially as the Christmas holidays draw near.

“Price control is another part of Consumer Affairs, which has been doing an excellent job in terms of their checks as it relates to pricing concerns and bread basket items We’re going to continue to work closely with them,” said Mr Rolle.

“We’re going to continue to work closely with the health department, food and safety, BBSQ in terms of quantity and quality, just to make sure that together, we dialogue. We’re going to continue to work with our sister agencies to make sure that, together, we work to give customers a better experience, especially coming closer to the holidays and at the end of month, when many people get paid and go to the grocery store.”