ZCSA CAPTURES OVER 1,000 NON-COMPLIANT PRODUCTS IN FOUR PROVINCES VALUED AT K30,000

The Zambia Compulsory Standards Agency (ZCSA) has taken over 1,000 different non-compliant products from four provinces, with a total value of K29,131, because they broke the rules of the Compulsory Standards Act No. 3 of 2017.

This enforcement action, which took place from February to May 2025, focused on the North-Western, Luapula, Northern, and Muchinga provinces. In total, 1,024 products were taken for not meeting the required standards.

The issues included selling expired, damaged, and poorly labeled products, as well as items that were not registered with the Agency or sold without the necessary permission.

ZCSA also pointed out many products that did not follow national labeling rules. A lot of them were only labeled in foreign languages, which goes against Zambian Standard ZS 033 that says English must be the main language on product labels.

Some of the products that were seized included cooking oil, synthetic detergents, margarine, sugar, drinkable spirits, fruit-flavored drinks, wheat flour, bottled water, electrical items, and clear beer.

The Agency mentioned that some of these products will be destroyed, while others might be fixed according to the rules.

ZCSA has stepped up its enforcement actions, public awareness campaigns, and activities to engage with stakeholders across the country.

The Agency has promised to make sure that only safe and compliant products are available to consumers in Zambia.

“Companies that provide non-compliant products could face penalties because these goods can be dangerous to public health and safety,” the Agency warned in a statement.

ZCSA has urged the public to report any suspicious products that fall under compulsory standards to the nearest Agency office to help with quick enforcement actions.

ZCSA was created under the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry and is responsible for managing and