Abu Dhabi:
Over 4,000 products failed quality and safety standards and dozens of goods were recalled from shelves in the UAE capital in the first quarter of the year, said the Abu Dhabi Quality Control Council (QCC) on Monday.
From 16,524 samples inspected, including toys, electrical appliances, tyres, tobacco and household cleaning products, the QCC took corrective action on six products with a total of 2,108 units and recalled a further 32 products with a total of 4,120 that were not compliant with QCC quality and safety requirements. The council also verified the accuracy of 2,900 legal measuring instruments and the accuracy of packaged quantity labelling for 5,752 pre-packaged units of 179 food products from factories, suppliers and markets in Abu Dhabi.
The verified legal measuring instruments included retail scales, jewellery and precious metal scales, oud and Arabian perfume scales, weighing platforms, trade shipping scales, and fuel-pump meters at ADNOC Distribution service stations.
All non-compliant measurement scales were withdrawn from use until maintenance and re-verification took place in order to ensure compliance with all mandatory requirements according to the regulations for each scale.
Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Executive Director of Consumer and Market Services at the QCC, said, “the QCC works to establish transparency within the Abu Dhabi market and takes into account the interests of both consumers and vendors.”
The council encouraged companies and employees in the industrial and commercial sectors to apply for the ‘AD Trustmark’, which promotes the trust of customers in the products.
The inspections carried out included checks on various home electronic appliances such as air conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines; kitchen appliances including electric kettles, deep fryers, grills and ovens, as well as personal care products such as electric shavers, among others.
The council urged consumers to look for the gold verification marks on scales and fuel-pump meters before making any purchases and to report the use of instruments that have a red seal, indicating non-compliance, to the Abu Dhabi Government contact centre on 800 555.