CAK puts bread makers on notice over misleading information
A customer shops for bread at a supermarket in Nairobi.
What you need to know:
- CAK has ordered bread makers to provide a list of ingredients and the net weight of their products in grams, and legibly print the date and month that the product was made on the wrappers.
The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has put bread manufacturers on notice for declaring false and misleading information about their products.
The competition watchdog on Monday said investigations targeting bread makers revealed they were not providing the date and month of manufacture on their bread wrappers while others were printing them on seals where they cannot be read.
“The authority, pursuant to its consumer protection mandate, has finalised investigations targeting bread manufacturers in Kenya and issued orders against those found not to have adhered to provisions of the Competition Act and other relevant Standards,” CAK said.
It said the manufacturers are also failing to provide the weight of their bread products and ingredients while others market the bread as fortified but do not specify the ingredients and vitamins they claim to have used.
The authority also found that some brands had misled consumers into believing their products contained milk or butter yet they did not.
Consumer rights
CAK Director-General Wang’ombe Kariuki noted that these actions by bread makers contravene Section 55(a)(i) of the Competition Act and that the manufacturers were also not adhering to product information standards provided by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs).
Mr Wang’ombe said that manufacturers have no latitude to select the laws they will follow and that consumers have the absolute right to full and accurate information about goods or services offered in markets.
“Specifically, the undertakings were not providing the manufacturing date or month on their bread wrappers in the prescribed format, while others were printing them illegibly on the seals. In other cases, the manufacturers omitted the applicable month in the expiry dates,” the authority said.
“Additionally, the manufacturers failed to provide the weight of their bread products and ingredients, while others marketed their bread as fortified but did not specify the alleged nutrients or vitamins used. Some brands misled consumers that their products contained milk or butter whereas they did not."
Orders issued
CAK has ordered bread makers to provide a list of ingredients and the net weight of their products in grams, and legibly print the date and month that the product was made on the wrappers.
The authority also wants them to use “Best Before” as opposed to “Sell By” in indicating product expiry dates and clearly specify the vitamins and minerals used in fortification of their bread.
The move by CAK comes a few months after tests on a wide array of bread brands by the Nation revealed quantities below the weight indicated on the wrappers while the prices remained the same, which indicated that buyers were being short-changed.
