The Coca-Cola System in Nigeria has refuted the allegation that it was misleading consumers in Nigeria with deceptive labelling of its products.
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) recently announced that Coca-Cola Nigeria and Nigeria Bottling Company Limited (NBC) risked being fined for alleged breaches of Consumer Rights Law.
But a statement issued at the weekend from the Coca-Cola System in Nigeria, said: “Coca-Cola Nigeria provides clear, accessible nutrition information on our packaging in line with national regulatory requirements and is committed to transparency for consumers.
“Our priority is safeguarding consumer interests and we will continue to work constructively with the government on this matter.
“We strongly believe that the Coca-Cola System in Nigeria has complied with all regulations and look forward to the opportunity to bring this topic to closure,” the statement explained.
This statement followed the FCCPC’s announcement that it would impose appropriate penalties in due course against Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited and NBC over alleged violations of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018.
The FCCPC alleged that Coca-Cola and NBC on multiple occasions violated, and remained in violation, of FCCPA, particularly concerning transparency and clear disclosure obligations to their product patrons.
The commission said it had opened a formal investigation against the companies between June 2019 and December 2020, seeking and securing vast internal documents and production logs to determine the veracity or otherwise of allegations that were the subject of investigation or explanations provided by Coca-Cola and NBC.
It alleged that “contrary to Section 124(1)(a) of the FCCPA, Coca-Cola Nigeria markets Coca-Cola Original Taste Less Sugar in packaging first, indistinguishable, and now not sufficiently distinguishable from Coca-Cola Original Taste, contrary to Sections 123(1)(a), (b), and (c) of the FCCPA.
“Further, Coca-Cola and NBC after regulatory intervention still failed to take appropriate steps to modify misleading behaviour, demonstrating that the companies acted intentionally by misrepresenting Coca-Cola Original Taste Less Sugar as Coca-Cola Original Taste in a deliberate business strategy.
“NBC used identical packaging for both Zero Sugar and its 50:50 variant of Limca Lime-Lemon flavoured drink, misleading consumers and violating Sections 17(g), 116(1) & (2), and 123 of the FCCPA and Section 2(a) of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control Act 2004.
“The commission found NBC applied deceptive trade descriptions to the two variants and supplied these products to consumers, violating Section 116 (3) of the FCCPA.
“The commission has reserved the question of Abuse of Dominance and quantum of the penalty appropriate under the FCCPA and Administrative Penalties Regulation 2020 (APR) for further regulatory action, and the same will be imposed in due course,” FCCPC added.
Dike Onwuamaeze
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