by JULIA RAWLINS-BENTHAM SUPERMARKETS may soon have to pay a heavy price for failing to properly label and affix prices to goods. Those who fail to comply could find themselves facing legal action brought against them by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), and having to pay out "substantial" monetary fines if found guilty. The "final warning" came yesterday from Minister of Commerce, Consumer Affairs and Business Development, Senator Lynette Eastmond, during a Press conference at her Reef Road, St Michael office. Eastmond said she had seen goods on shelves without writing on the labels in English and without prices. She added that while the problem existed among all supermarkets, the larger ones had been fingered as the main perpetrators. This, she said, was despite numerous ads being placed in newspapers to attract the attention of the business community to what was expected from them relating to labelling and pricing of goods. "The next step for us [the ministry] is to take legal action against those persons who are in default because we simply cannot continue in circumstances where labelling isn't being done properly," Eastmond said. She explained that Barbados could not afford a situation where someone became ill or died because they ingested a product that was not properly labelled, and were not aware that the item contained an ingredient to which they were allergic. Eastmond said the infractions had been in existence for some time, but "this is the final warning". She explained that a new Standards Act had been passed in Parliament earlier this year, and the business community had been given a grace period to familiarise itself with it. "That period of time has passed," she said. Investigations will be conducted by the Department of Commerce, and a request made to the DPP to bring the necessary action against supermarkets in default. Though she could not recall the exact figure, Eastmond said fines for those in default were "substantial". The minister also called on consumers to take action against such supermarkets. "There is a need for consumers to use their power and determine that they should make a complaint and if it persists, they should withdraw their custom, which we all have a right to do as consumers," she said. * juliarawlins@nationnews.com
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