Public safety officials have been alerted about Kiri Bottling Company Limited over the sale of expired drinks.
Traders in Porombo in Nebbi district said that the more than 5,000 bottles had already passed their sell-by date by nineteen days.
“Their move to sell expired drinks may be deliberate as they were selling plastic bottled sodas to clear stock as their product has a small market share,” said a whisthleblower in Porombo who asked not be named because he is one their agents.
“We had a lot in stock and it was true the drinks were expired. The company, however, collected them and took them back to the store.”
In addition, the trader said members of the public became suspicions after finding impurities in the sodas despite being sealed.
He said they had been trailing the group for one week after they were tipped off by residents.
Another distributor only identified as Raphael, based in Nyakivale in Isingiro district, said customers do not respond well to Kiri products.
“Kiri soda is new on the market and customers are yet to get acquainted with the product,” he said. He, however, said he had large quantities of expired products which were recently replaced by the suppliers.
“The suppliers came and replaced the expired products,” he said.
Efforts to reach out to suppliers of Kiri products were futile.
UNBS reacts
Selling food products and other consumable goods in Uganda without checking their the manufacturing date and expiry period remains a high practice on Ugandan Market.
“This is against the public health act and exposes people to health danger,” said spokesperson of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), Godwin Bonge Muhwesi.
“We will send our team to the areas cited and if we find out that expired products are on sale, we will seize them and the law will take its course,” he said.
He said the sale of expired or sub-standard products is a crime and that if found guilty, the distributors will be taken to court.
Kiri Bottling Company Limited are the manufacturers of Fruiti, Orange, Cola and Lemon among other products and is widely traded in all suburbs of Kampala, Arua, Mbarara, Jinja, Isingiro, Gulu.
