Sub-standard sanitisers land firm in trouble

DISTRIBUTING and selling sub- standard sanitisers has cost Prochem (Pvt) Limited a $3 000 fine, even though the company said it had made the batch before standards were set with the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company initially appeared in court on Saturday represented by its head of sales and marketing John Nhari, charged for manufacturing non-standard personal protective material. After conviction the trial was adjourned to yesterday for sentence.

Magistrate Mrs Barbra Mateko yesterday fined the company $3 000 to be paid on or before June 30, and warned that failure to pay would see the company’s property attached to raise the sum.

In mitigation, the company submitted that sanitisers were already in stock before the World Health Organization set new standards to ensure the product would kill the Covid-19 virus.

“The company had no intention to commit the offence as some of the sanitisers had already been manufactured before set standards were announced. The company also did not benefit from the offence since the sanitisers were confiscated by the

police and the ones already on the market were recalled,” the company’s lawyer said.

Giving her reasons for the fine, Mrs Mateko said Prochem was supposed to halt the manufacturing of the sanitisers and proceed after meeting all the requirements.

Prosecutor Mr Desire Chidanire told the court that on 28 April at around 2pm, detectives from the CID anti-smuggling and anti-counterfeit unit received information that the company was manufacturing non-standard hand sanitisers.

Detectives proceeded to Prochem, who operate from Glen Eagles Road in Harare and seized 168x100ml bottles of a branded hand sanitiser before submitting samples the next day to the Standards Association of Zimbabwe for test.

The hand sanitisers failed to meet the required minimum standard.