Working Together To Stop Fake Agricultural Products In Uganda
Last month Emmanuel was in despair. His entire crop of maize had perished after he used a fertiliser product he now realised was fake. What could he do now that he and his family of six had nothing left to live on? In Uganda, the sale of counterfeit agricultural inputs is a problem that affects some of the most vulnerable segments of the population. Smallholder farming provides the critical lifeline for many rural Ugandans so a threat to the integrity of agricultural input supplies is a threat to the heart of the country. According to a report for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Ugandan manufacturers lose between US$10.7- and US$22.4 million annually due to counterfeit maize, herbicide and inorganic fertilizer sales*. These kinds of figures are staggering. The average size of a small farmer’s land in Uganda is 2.5 hectares (6 acres) and average per capita income was just $506 in 2012.
Lear MoreCBSA seizes tobacco smuggled with vegetables at St-Bernard-de-Lacolle
MONTREAL — A Canada Border Services Agency guard, acting on information from the RCMP and the Sûrété du Québec, pulled a trucker over on Aug. 20 and did a thorough inspection of his semi-trailer. The hunch paid off when the guards found more than 15,000 kilos of loose tobacco smuggled behind boxes of fresh vegetables. This seizure took place at the St-Bernard-de-Lacolle crossing. An investigation by the CBSA, RCMP and SQ had made clear that there was a risk of smuggling associated with the truck and driver, so when the fellow pulled up at the border crossing, the agents went to work. The driver arrested and will face charges under the Customs Act and the Excise Act.
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Tobacco smuggler brought back from Spain to serve prison term
The Most Wanted fugitives fled abroad either before or during their trial. John Sabin, part of a major tobacco smuggling gang, fled to Spain after being convicted of his involvement in smuggling more illicit cigarettes into the UK. He was traced to a bar in Spain and has been brought back to serve a two years and nine months jail sentence which he was given in his absence, plus an extra three months for absconding.
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Aed 4 Million Worth Of Fake Products Seized In Dubai
The Department of Economic Development in Dubai has seized more than AED 4 million worth of counterfeit goods during recent inspections. About 200,000 fake electrical and plumbing products were confiscated from two warehouses.
The body routinely carries out planned and surprise inspections to catch people selling fake products. The public are being urged not to buy these goods. People can also report counterfeit cases on 600545555 or @Dubai_consumers on Twitter.
http://www.dubaieye1038.com/aed-4-million-worth-fake-products-seized-dubai/
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Pharma working group on track-and-trace holds first meeting
Pharma supply chain security group Rx-360 has set up a work group to explore ways to help companies comply with serialization and track and trace legislation for medicines.
The Traceability Data Exchange Architecture work group – which held its first meeting last week – is concentrating on developing “conceptual models for the interoperable exchange of information needed to comply with global regulations,” according to a press release from the organisation. The work group says it will develop several models that will be discussed “at a high level and measured for … merits and impact on the supply chain.
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US Pharmacopeia joins safe online pharmacy group
Online pharmacy The US Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) has joined a group campaigning to raise awareness of illegal online medicines sales. USP has lent its support to the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP), an advocacy organisation set up to protect consumers from the scourge of rogue online pharmacies though measures such as public education, data collection and dissemination, best practices development and encouraging policy and legislative change.
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Blow away this smoke screen made from myths
Preventing smuggled cigarettes coming into Ireland is protecting young people from the very high risks of smoking, writes Kathleen O’Meara. The Irish Cancer Society wants an investigation into the Irish market, and asks why cigarettes legally sold into other countries end up being sold illegally here. Stories abound about the smuggling of cigarettes into Ireland. Some of them are presented as fact, some are simply urban myths. Like the one about rat droppings being found in counterfeit cigarettes allegedly made in factories in deepest China and sold on the Irish market.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/analysis/blow-away-this-smoke-screen-made-from-myths-283376.html
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Raid disrupts counterfeit cosmetics trade in Malaysia
Assorted cosmeticsAn operation in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur has resulted in the seizure of around $134,000-worth of counterfeit cosmetic goods. The surprise raid – set up by two leading cosmetics manufacturers with the help of lawfirm Wong & Partners and the enforcement division of the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism (MDTCC) – resulted in the shutdown of several shops in the busy city centre shopping mall.
Lear MoreFake fertilizer makers slapped with fines
The People’s Committee of the Central Highlands of Lam Dong Province yesterday fined two companies VND322 million ($15,200) for manufacturing and selling fake fertilizer products.
The companies were identified as Long Viet and Viet Nga fertilizer production companies. The companies were also required to recall and hand over the fake products to the local authorities. — VNS.
http://vietnamnews.vn/society/259130/fake-fertilizer-makers-slapped-with-fines.html
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PolyOne aims brand protection tech at consumer electronics
Plastics specialist PolyOne has started selling its Percept authentication system in tandem with thermoplastic elastomers used to make consumer electronics products. First launched last year, the Percept range encompasses a series of formulation additives and taggants that can be added to polymer masterbatches during production and used to distinguish between authentic and counterfeit goods in the supply chain.
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