Imported products will soon be labelled in Portuguese – INNOQ

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Imported products will soon be labelled in Portuguese – INNOQ

12:02 CAT | 18 Jul 2017

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The National Institute for Standardisation and Quality (INNOQ) says it has already approved numerous proposals for the labelling of imported products in Portuguese and only implementation is lacking.

The measure, which aims to ensure that citizens know what they are consuming, came into force in 2006. It is not yet fully complied with, with the government establishing June of this year as the deadline for implementation.

Speaking in Maputo yesterday at the opening session of the 3rd INAE Consultative Council, Inspector General for Economic Activities Rita Freitas urged the companies to complete the process by the end of this year, because from the start of 2018 any product that does not meet all legal requirements will be banned from sale.

“Any product worldwide should be marketed in the language of the country of sale. Many companies have already presented their labels to us: all we need is to put it into practice. After the date set by the government we will remove from the market all products that are not labelled in Portuguese,” Freitas warned.

Control of the labelling of imported products involves the INAE, INNOQ and the Ministry of Health (MISAU).

Regarding the sealing of alcoholic beverages and cigarettes, another measure that has already entered into force, Freitas said that work is in progress at the national level between INAE and the Tax Authority (AT) to ensure that this process is observed by economic agents, with a view to paying excise duty, the main objective of the initiative.

“We will seize all unsealed drinks to ensure that the economic agent pays the consumption tax. We call on consumers to avoid buying alcohol and cigarettes that do not have a seal,” she said.

In turn, the deputy minister of industry and commerce, Ragendra de Sousa, recommended that the INAE strengthen internal control mechanisms to combat corruption, conveying confidence and ensure quality of service to economic agents.

“Economic agents should not be afraid of our work. We are also educators, so we should support and teach our agents about good market practices,” he said.

The two-day meeting aims to outline strategies to improve the coordination between provincial technical inspector delegates and central INAE to ensure the harmonisation of inspection procedures.

The meeting includes inspector training, leading to joint inspection work in Maputo city and province.

The meeting sees the participation of INNOQ, the Tax Authority, the Attorney General’s Office, provincial technical inspectors and other institutions and runs under the motto “INAE – Guaranteeing the Supervision of Economic Activity”.

Source: AIM Moçambique