By AGISANANG SCUFF
27 August 2025- The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has issued Compliance Notices to 37 suppliers in Mpumalanga following inspections that revealed multiple contraventions of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA). The NCC said these inspections were conducted between February and June 2025 to ascertain compliance with the CPA by suppliers of foodstuffs, in particular.
The NCC acting Commissioner Hardin Ratshisusu said during these inspections, they discovered that some suppliers were selling expired, dented and damaged products. Ratshisusu said this including canned foods, beverages, snacks, jam, sauces, maize meal, peanut butter, and frozen items. Several of these goods lacked ingredient lists, had unclear or missing best-before dates.
“In some instances, consumers were denied refunds or exchanges for unsafe and faulty items. These practices violate consumers’ rights to safe, quality goods as outlined in Section 55(2) of the CPA, as well as the right to return unsafe or defective products under Section 56(2).
“The inspections further uncovered suppliers failing to provide complete sales records. In many cases, receipts were only issued when specifically requested and often omitted mandatory details such as the supplier’s name and CIPC registration number, address, VAT number, product descriptions, quantity, unit price, total cost and applicable taxes,” he said.
Ratshisusu further said this conduct is a direct contravention of Section 26(2–3) of the CPA. Ratshisusu added that inspectors noted widespread failure to display prices on products such as canned foods, maize meal and beverages, leaving consumers unable to make informed purchasing decisions.
“This is a contravention of Section 23(3) of the Act, while the sale of unlabelled or misleadingly labelled goods violates 24(1) and 24(2–3).
“Suppliers have been instructed to immediately remove and destroy all expired and damaged stock, to correctly label all goods in line with the CPA and its regulations, to clearly display prices on or near products offered for sale, and to issue complete and accurate sales records for every transaction,” he said.
Ratshisusu said they are required to comply within 15 business days of receipt of the notices. He said failure to comply will result in referral of the matter to the National Consumer Tribunal, where suppliers may face an administrative fine of up to R1 million or 10% of their annual turnover.
“Together with other regulators, the NCC focused on the Mpumalanga Province as part of efforts to ensure compliance with the CPA during the Consumer Rights awareness period, particularly on food safety.
“Whilst there is general compliance with the CPA, mostly in the formal sector, the NCC identified suppliers that were flouting certain provisions of the CPA, placing consumers at risk,” said Ratshisusu.
He said should affected suppliers fail to comply with these Notices, the NCC will take further appropriate steps.
The Guardian 