The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has ordered manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers to withdraw consumer goods with incomplete, misleading or deceptive labels from the market.

The commission issued the directive in a public advisory signed by its management and published on its official X account on Tuesday.

The FCCPC said its market surveillance, routine inspections and quality assurance activities had uncovered products carrying misleading information or lacking mandatory labelling details.

It listed missing information found on some products to include production dates, expiry or best-before dates, batch numbers, manufacturer details, ingredient lists, allergen information and country of origin.

The commission said such practices violated consumers’ right to the information required to make informed purchasing decisions.

It added that misleading or incomplete labels could expose consumers to health, safety and economic risks.

The FCCPC said it was empowered under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018, to promote consumer safety and ensure compliance with applicable labelling requirements and standards set by relevant regulatory authorities, including the Standards Organisation of Nigeria and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control.

It directed businesses to immediately review their inventories and withdraw from sale all consumer goods that do not comply with applicable labelling requirements.

The commission warned that businesses that continued to distribute or sell non-compliant products would face appropriate regulatory enforcement action.

It also advised consumers to carefully examine product labels before making purchases and avoid products with missing, illegible, altered or misleading labels.

The FCCPC urged consumers to report suspected cases of non-compliance through its official complaint channels.

The commission said it would continue to strengthen nationwide market surveillance and enforcement activities in collaboration with relevant regulatory authorities to improve consumer protection.