The Right Chemistry: A distaste for plastic cheese and fake mayo
On a recent trip to the United States, I perused a menu and decided on a cheese sandwich. When I asked the waitress about the kind of cheese involved, I was told, “American!” I replied I was interested in the type of cheese, not its citizenship. “You know, American, the plastic kind,” came the irritated response. I now knew I had to prep the taste buds for “processed” cheese.
Lear MoreCrawley man arrested in tobacco smuggling raids as 200,000 cigarettes and £20,000 cash seized
A CRAWLEY man has been arrested on suspicion of tobacco smuggling following raids in the town and across London where cash, hundreds of thousands of cigarettes and vehicles were seized.
About 60 officers HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), working with Trading Standards teams, raided 10 residential and business premises in Crawley and Bermondsey, in South London, as part of an operation to disrupt the illegal trade of tobacco and cigarettes yesterday.
Sh35m counterfeit goods netted
The extent to which Kenyans are consuming fake goods, some suspected to be poisonous foods and drinks, was exposed yesterday as it emerged that over Sh10 billion counterfeit products are being made per year in shady factories, most of them in Nairobi.
http://www.mediamaxnetwork.co.ke/people-daily/147455/sh35m-counterfeit-goods-netted/
Lear MoreAlibaba Steps Up Efforts To Combat Counterfeiting
China-based Alibaba Group has restructured its counterfeit procedures in the wake of escalating complaints about fake products available on the company’s shopping sites. The e-commerce firm is allowing global brands with high accuracy in flagging counterfeit items to enroll in a “good-faith takedown” program. Complaints about fake goods on Alibaba shopping platforms Tmall and Taobao will now be reviewed in one to three working days – compared to five-seven days previously. In addition, participating brands will receive a dedicated representative to address their complaints.
Lear MoreSON siezes fake baby diaper worth over N200m from 3 Chinese
The Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) on Wednesday intercepted 10 containers of suspected fake baby diapers worth over N200million allegedly imported by three Chinese nationals.Thesiezures took place at Railway Terminus, IjoraOlopa, Lagos.Mr Bede Obayi, the Director of Inspectorate and Compliance Department of the organisation, told newsmen in Lagos on Wednesday that the suspects had been handed over to the police for further investigation and prosecution.
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/2015/06/son-siezes-fake-baby-diaper-worth-over-n200m-from-3-chinese/
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Nigerian textile sector union backs anti-smuggling fight
The National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) has lauded the renewed efforts of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in the fight against smuggling.“We are impressed by the recent discovery of 75 illegal warehouses in Kano where contraband textile materials worth about Naira 319.9 billion were stored. We commend the customs for the reported seizure of the smuggled textile materials. We hope that this development is not another passing fad in line with the mood of the country for change but an enduring commitment of Nigeria Customs Service to do its job to protect local producers and help the country to ensure sustainable jobs,” IssaAremu, the union’s general secretary said on its website.
http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/textile-news/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=172788
Lear MoreOhio’s cigarette tax proposal would light up a black market
Cigarette smugglers, or “buttleggers,” will “load up a U-Haul” with cigarettes from a low-tax state and re-sell them in higher-tax states. The practice is little-known but highly lucrative—the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms estimates that smugglers can net up to $4 million from a single truckload. As states increase their cigarette taxes, they also incentivize this black market activity.
http://watchdog.org/222601/ohios-cigarette-tax-proposal-light-black-market/
Lear MoreIn shopping, here are secrets of quality buying
It’s not unusual to return from shopping and only to discover that some products you have bought were of low quality to what you were used to. So, once or twice we have found ourselves in error of paying money for fake product, simply because we did not take notice of certain differences. Regrettably, sometimes the ability to spot the difference between a fake and an original product eludes a buyer because of “market pressure”, however some other time the customer neglects his primary responsibility of ensuring that the goods he or she is paying for is original by doing the necessary checks expected of a buyer.
http://businessdayonline.com/2015/06/in-shopping-here-are-secrets-of-quality-buying/#.VXAsRdKqqko
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Smuggled cigarettes a serious health hazard
Vietnamese consumers must become more aware of the health dangers of illicit tobacco products, including smuggled cigarettes, experts urged at a seminar held in HCM City on Tuesday.
Organised in response to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) World No Tobacco Day 2015 on May 31, the seminar was held by SucKhoe&Doi Song (Health & Life) newspaper in collaboration with the Viet Nam Gender Medicine Association.WHO recently launched a “Preventing Illegal Tobacco” campaign to call on countries to eliminate illegal cigarettes.
http://vietnamnews.vn/society/271261/smuggled-cigarettes-a-serious-health-hazard.html
Lear MoreAlibaba tightens up procedures on fake product listings
Alibaba has promised to introduce a fast-track system for taking down listings for goods suspected to be counterfeit on its online marketplaces.
The move comes in the wake of a fresh lawsuit from luxury goods group Kering SA – which owns brands such as Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) and Puma – which is claiming the Chinese online retailer is not doing enough to curb the sale of fake goods.