BY MAVIS NISHIMURA PODOKOLO
THERE is good results from Honiara City Council’s (HCC) operation against foreign language labelled goods in shops last week, it is reported.
Wholesalers and HCC’s inspection unit have struck an agreement whereby the suppliers will relabel products with foreign-language labels using English.
HCC’s Chief Health inspector George Titulu hails this as a successful sign of ‘cooperation and understanding between shop owners and law implementers’.
“With regards to this positive outcome we have major companies and major wholesalers come forward and suggest if we can walk together with the relabeling issue, hence, conversation to walk the talk has already under way in between us.
“Honiara City council will let the general public, when and how will the process of relabelling will be conducted, this is to lessen the issues breaching the food labelling and foreign language by laws of the council,” he said.
He said with regards to the inspection operation, there have been criticisms faced by the taskforce but they never backed down because they were simply implementing the law as they have been mandated.
“When carrying out the operation we faced criticism but we never back down because what we are doing is based on what the law has mandated to us to it with a good faith,” Titulu said.
80 percent of shops in Honiara were inspected and more than 50 were found to be selling foreign-labelled goods.
