It is unfortunate that we never hear news about rotten food and expired medication until we read about in newspapers after consumers have already bought large quantities of such products. Rotten meat, fish and chicken unfit for consumption have recently been seized in sizable quantities after restaurants had served large amounts of this food to the public. Several eateries have been shut down for this violation and for failing to comply with the required minimum standards of hygiene. When health inspectors visit supermarkets or pharmacies, they often discover expired products on the shelves. But these days, it's not only expired food and medication that is being seized, huge quantities of counterfeit tires have also been confiscated. Over two million counterfeit tires have somehow found their way to our markets. Do we realize how dangerous this is? It means that 30 percent of the drivers on our roads are using tires that pose a threat to their lives and to the lives of other drivers. We do not want authorities to merely publish news of the confiscation of expired products. We want more information about what type of food or medication has been seized and destroyed. We need to know which items are high risk so that we can exercise extra caution when buying them. In fact, many of us are probably using or have used products that the authorities later confiscated, and we are completely oblivious to the potential danger of these items. Businesses that deal in and import such products should be named and shamed in newspapers. Stricter penalties should be imposed on them and stricter procedures should be in place to prevent such products from reaching our markets and consumers.
