At first, the problem of false advertising was mostly annoying, but it is proving to be far more grievous. Turns out that asides processed food companies ‘harmlessly’ overstating the quality of their products, there are some that purposely mislead consumers to purchase fake food. And naturally, rather than taking responsibility for the dangerous outbreaks their food causes, they cover up with more PR.
Tiger Brands, one of the biggest processed food companies in South Africa have been charged for five food related scandals in 11 years, killing several people in the country. The most recent being for the traces of listeriosis found in their processed meats. But instead of addressing the issue, Tiger Brands has either tried to cover the issue up or ignored the frustrations expressed by their consumers. Another example is the death of two children and hospitalization of many more in The Local Education Authority (LEA) Primary School in Kubwa, Abuja. The children allegedly fell ill from what is believed to be food poisoning sustained from eating counterfeit brand biscuits.
These are just two of many incidents and the available data documenting the causes and implications of these incidents are worrying. While recent research conducted by the Confederation of Tanzania Industries estimated that 20% of food imported into Tanzania are fake, there’s no concrete data of such importance in Nigeria. However, Ndidi Nwuneli, co-founder of Nigeria’s AACE Foods and Sahel Capital, in an article for Quartz said that she has witnessed the magnitude of food fraud first-hand by looking at shelves in supermarkets and products sold in kiosks in Nigeria. She gave examples of products that are advertised as milk powder, but have no animal protein, and another of vegetable oil made from recycled oil. Both are advertised as food but are not suitable for human consumption. Though processed food aren’t reputed for being healthy, coupled with the rise of counterfeit products, the health risk is infinity increased.
In her piece, Ndidi Nwuneli suggested that the biggest issue driving food fraud is importation: the weak standards imposed on the import of materials used to produce goods, and the competition local manufacturers and faced with due to from cheaper imports. While that problem still lingers, the increased demand for accountability is forcing the fraudulent companies to admit responsibility or be driven out of business. In the case of Tiger Brands for instance, their previously successful PR attempt failed with the rise of our information economy era and South Africans uproar on social media platforms.
To solve the problem, some African countries are taking the initiative by imposing stricter laws like South Africa enforcing regulations that restrict food coloring and foods with dangerous chemical from being imported. Other countries like Liberia and Kenya have also signed on to CODEX Alimentarius —international food standards, a WHO initiative that sets global safe food standards—in an attempt to end this epidemic in their countries.
However, since there are still locally produced counterfeits, we can take advantage of media platforms to help raise awareness about fake products. The creators of English TV show, “Fake Britain” had the right ideas with the show’s reputation for actively driving the dangerous counterfeit products out of the market by informing people about what products to avoid in the market.