Fake products are risky

On Friday, Rwanda Bureau of Standards (RBS) ordered the closure of a palm oil manufacturing plant located in Kicukiro for producing substandard oil.A mini survey by this newspaper in Kigali city alone indicated that many restaurants had been using the same palm oil for cooking.It is unlawful to sell fake and substandard products. Fake products such as foodstuffs have health risks. And consumers lose money while in hospital treating various ailments caused by consuming expired goods or using inefficacious drugs.Inspections in the past has seen RBS impound a range of substandard products in a crackdown on poor quality products, but surprisingly, they find their way into the country again.While the regular campaign by the Rwanda Bureau of Standards (RBS is commendable and needs to be maintained, the inspection body needs to establish stronger ties with the public so that they can continue monitoring and report to the concerned authorities any suspicious product or unscrupulous traders.It also needs to deploy its inspectors at border points to prevent dumping of substandard products into the market. Most of these products come from neighboring countries and RBS will need to work closely with the other partner states of the East African Community (EAC).