623 rice bags confiscated after trademark violations

Over 600 rice bags were confiscated from shops during inspections carried out by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism after noticing trademark infringements. The inspections were part of efforts by the ministry to ensure food safety and hygiene during the month of Ramadan.

The infringements were considered to be misleading the consumers, the ministry stated. According to the officials, action is being taken against the company that sold the rice bags.

“As part of the efforts by the ministry’s inspection center’s preparations ahead of Ramadan, an inspection campaign is being carried out to ensure the rights of consumers and traders alike,” the ministry stated. “The inspection team confiscated 623 rice bags from a company after it was clear that the company infringed a trademark.

The violation is one that leads to misleading consumers and the issue is being taken seriously,” a ministry representative said. Another inspection by the Standards and Metrology Directorate within the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism revealed that more than 100 weighting tools in the market failed to meet the required standards, potentially giving wrong readings. The inspection campaign by the authorities revealed that nine percent of the weighing scales in the market were not meeting the required standards.

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism had in recent years stepped up its inspection team by establishing an inspection center. “In terms of inspection, we had previously suffered because we had small and fragmented inspection teams,” the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Zayed Al Zayani said last December. “The small workforce did not allow us to do a comprehensive job. We set up a central inspection team and we expanded the manpower within that team.