Zambia Compulsory Standards Agency (ZCSA) has this year withdrawn over 5,600 unsafe and non-compliant products valued at K440,645.89 from markets across the country. This follows an extensive national open market surveillance exercise conducted in all 10 provinces. ZCSA Executive Director, Gerald Chizinga said the enforcement operation was aimed at protecting consumers from hazardous and substandard products ensuring compliance with compulsory standards.
The media reports that Mr Chizinga explained that the 2025 surveillance covered 61 districts and 108 localities, with inspections carried out on 41 categories of products. He announced that a total of 1,584 product brands were inspected across 1,925 trading outlets, during which 47 cases of non-compliance were recorded. He said the most common violations recorded included 50 cases of expired products, 176 cases involving products with unverified registration status, and 40 cases where goods lacked manufacturing dates and expiry dates or batch numbers.
Other offences involved 43 cases of bonded products illegally placed on the market, 15 cases of substandard electrical fittings, eight cases of products containing foreign materials, and three cases of adulterated fertiliser. He noted that enforcement measures included product seizure and withdrawal for items deemed unsafe, as well as quarantine and restriction for products whose compliance status required further verification, as provided for under the Compulsory Standards Act. Among the withdrawn items were 1,819 electrical fittings and connections, 877 portable spirits, 773 incandescent bulbs, 760 rubber condoms, 454 flavored drinks, 348 bottled drinking water products, 277 household electrical appliances.The products further include, 181 toilet soap, 106 cooking oil products, 88 opaque beer, 53 clear beer, 44 peanut butter, 81 electric cables, and various other food and non-food items.In addition, 5 bales of used textile products containing undergarments were removed from circulation.The agency also quarantined 14,121 products pending further assessment to determine their compliance status.According to Mr Chizinga, the overall average compliance level stood at 86 percent, with manufacturers recording about 90 percent compliance, brands 75 percent, and trading outlets 92 percent.He said the slight decline in compliance compared to 2024 should be viewed because of an expanded inspection coverage and intensified enforcement.“This year we increased our inspection activities by over 100 percent, inspection days by more than 180 percent, and district coverage by 74 percent.
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The wider reach allowed us to detect more non-compliances, which explains the marginal drop in compliance levels,” he stated.“As an agency, our duty is to ensure that consumers are not exposed to products that pose actual or potential risks to their health and safety. Where products were found to be unsafe, immediate enforcement action was taken,” Mr Chizinga said. Among the withdrawn items were 1,819 electrical fittings and connections, 877 portable spirits, 773 incandescent bulbs, 760 rubber condoms, 454 flavored drinks, 348 bottled drinking water products, 277 household electrical appliances.
The products further include, 181 toilet soap, 106 cooking oil products, 88 opaque beer, 53 clear beer, 44 peanut butter, 81 electric cables, and various other food and non-food items.In addition, 5 bales of used textile products containing undergarments were removed from circulation.The agency also quarantined 14,121 products pending further assessment to determine their compliance status.According to Mr Chizinga, the overall average compliance level stood at 86 percent, with manufacturers recording about 90 percent compliance, brands 75 percent, and trading outlets 92 percent.He said the slight decline in compliance compared to 2024 should be viewed because of an expanded inspection coverage and intensified enforcement.“This year we increased our inspection activities by over 100 percent, inspection days by more than 180 percent, and district coverage by 74 percent. The products further include, 181 toilet soap, 106 cooking oil products, 88 opaque beer, 53 clear beer, 44 peanut butter, 81 electric cables, and various other food and non-food items. In addition, 5 bales of used textile products containing undergarments were removed from circulation.The agency also quarantined 14,121 products pending further assessment to determine their compliance status.According to Mr Chizinga, the overall average compliance level stood at 86 percent, with manufacturers recording about 90 percent compliance, brands 75 percent, and trading outlets 92 percent.He said the slight decline in compliance compared to 2024 should be viewed because of an expanded inspection coverage and intensified enforcement.“This year we increased our inspection activities by over 100 percent, inspection days by more than 180 percent, and district coverage by 74 percent. In addition, 5 bales of used textile products containing undergarments were removed from circulation.
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