The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has directed manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers across the country to immediately withdraw consumer goods with incomplete, misleading or deceptive labels from the market.
The directive was contained in a public advisory issued by the commission’s management and posted on its official X handle on Tuesday. The FCCPC said it had observed an increasing circulation, distribution and sale of consumer products that failed to comply with existing standards and regulations governing product labelling.
According to the commission, market surveillance, routine inspections and quality assurance activities revealed that several products contained misleading or deceptive information, while others lacked essential details such as production dates, expiry or best-before dates, batch numbers, manufacturer information, ingredient lists, allergen details and country-of-origin information.
The FCCPC said it was empowered under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018, to safeguard consumers and ensure compliance with applicable product labelling standards and regulations established by relevant agencies, including the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
It warned that incomplete or deceptive labelling undermines consumers’ right to adequate information required to make informed purchasing decisions and could expose them to avoidable health, safety and economic risks. The commission, therefore, directed all businesses involved in the supply chain to review their inventories and remove all non-compliant products from sale.
The FCCPC warned that manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers that continue to distribute or sell products that do not meet the required labelling standards risk appropriate regulatory enforcement action.
Consumers were also advised to carefully examine product labels before making purchases and avoid goods with missing, illegible, altered, misrepresented or poor-quality labels, as well as products bearing false claims or misleading information. The commission urged Nigerians to promptly report suspected cases of non-compliance through its official complaint channels.
The FCCPC added that it would strengthen market surveillance and enforcement activities nationwide in collaboration with relevant regulatory authorities to improve compliance with established standards and enhance consumer protection.
