COMPANIES found guilty of storing out-of-date or unsuitable foods are on average fined a mere £300, nothing compared to the profits they stand to gain if they get away with shifting it into the market, Parliament heard yesterday.
The figures were presented to the House Commerce Committee, where the matter of consumer protection was raised in the light of the recent dairy scandal where two importers were found with large consignments of expired cheese.
Committee chairman Lefteris Christoforou of DISY had raised the feasibility of introducing a Consumers’ Commissioner and the need for stronger penalties against offender-companies.
Following a suggestion from AKEL deputies Christos Mavrokordatos, Stavros Evagorou and Dinos Hadjinicolas, the Committee also discussed the problems highlighted by the recent expired cheese scandal.
“There is a breach in the consumer’s trust towards the market, especially in the light of recent events,” Christoforou said in his opening address. “The consumer is not aware of the protection he is legally entitled to.”
Deputy Yiannakis Omirou of EDEK added recent events had increased the need to bring in new legislation. “There is a need for political will on the matter. Parliament can send the message out and the state can take it from there.”
Government representatives, political parties, state services and organisations for the protection of consumers’ rights all agreed that Cyprus needed further co-ordination and the establishment of relevant services, which would carry out checks on consumer products.
There was, however, doubt over whether a Consumers’ Commissioner would really make much difference.
Mavrokordatos and DIKO Deputy Aristos Chrysostomou said although there were still co-ordination problems among state services, recent events had proved that they did carry out their duties.
The two deputies also raised constitutional problems that might arise if Parliament decided to go ahead with appointing a commissioner and burdening the public Treasury and state budget.
State health and consumer services informed the Committee that numerous investigations and checks were made all the time, and that prosecutions ensued when lawbreakers were found. And the fines were high, sometimes resulting in imprisonment, they insisted.
Consumer protection organisations all supported the need for a Consumer Commissioner. But trade union PEO suggested it would be enough for existing services to be better co-ordinated. All agreed that the public needed to be better informed and were in favour of the naming and shaming of prosecuted companies.
Meanwhile, the Green Party held a news conference yesterday at which they also proposed the creation of a Consumers’ Commissioner, who would ensure food safety and co-ordinate the action plan for the protection of consumers.
Party spokeswoman Ioanna Panayiotou said the concealment of information by state officials should be criminally prosecuted and that fines for those who break the law be.
The youth wing’s Efi Xanthou pointed the finger at Health Minister Andreas Gavrielides for his failure to reply to Green Party leader George Perdikis in writing, on questions over the concealment of information concerning products that contained modified organisms that exceeded the amount legally acceptable, and had misleading labelling.
Ombudswoman Eliana Nicolaou had issued a report about this, said Xanthou, in which she spoke of “the Health Ministry’s unjustifiable refusal to give the plaintiff the information he had asked for in writing on March 16, 2005” and suggested the Ministry immediately respond to Perdikis’ questions.
The Ombudswoman, according to Xanthou, also said “the denial to present information asked for by the plaintiff goes against the regulations of the United Nations’ Treaty for Access to information, the inclusion of the public in the making of decisions and the access to justice for environmental issues.”
