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Egypt's Consumer Protection Agency launched a wide-ranging inspection campaign in cooperation with the General Administration for Supply Investigations in Sharqia governorate, at the Mashtoul El Souq centre, uncovering a warehouse that was repackaging cooking oil from materials of unknown origin and distributing it in markets in violation of health and safety requirements. The warehouse had been using the names of major, well-known brands to mislead consumers.
The campaign was launched in response to reports circulating on social media about individuals repackaging cooking oil in ways that violated health safety standards, which had sparked widespread public outrage.
After completing the necessary legal groundwork, the campaign targeted the warehouse and detained the person responsible for it, who admitted to having no licences to use the trademarks in the packaging process and confessed to bottling large quantities of oil from unknown, health-damaging sources.
The raid resulted in the seizure of 10.8 tonnes of cooking oil of unknown origin ready for distribution, along with packaging equipment, 35,000 empty containers bearing the names of well-known brands, and an unlicensed production line.
The campaign forms part of the implementation of directives from the Prime Minister to intensify market oversight in order to combat commercial fraud and prevent the circulation of goods of unknown origin that are harmful to consumers.
Ibrahim El Seginy, head of the Consumer Protection Agency, affirmed that the agency will continue to carry out inspection campaigns to monitor markets and confront any practices that affect citizens' health and safety. He added that the incident constitutes a violation of consumer protection and anti-fraud laws, and that the case has been referred to the Public Prosecution for the necessary legal action.
El Seginy stressed the importance of tackling any violations relating to food products, affirming that the agency will show no leniency towards any attempts to tamper with citizens' health or mislead them with products of unknown origin.
Source: Al Mal Forum