U Zayar Swe, deputy director of the Consumer Affairs Department, said his agency has yet to conduct any inspections of manufactures for compliance with the order, which went into effect on April 1.

“As we are in the COVID-19 crisis, it is not possible to conduct inspections,” he said. “There have been inspections in the markets, and we will take action against those who refuse to comply with the order.”

All product labels in Myanmar are required to include information on storage, allergies, warnings and side effects in the Myanmar language, but some local and imported products haven’t met the requirement yet, said Myanmar Consumers Union Secretary U Maung Maung.

“Since COVID-19 entered the country, we haven’t been able to concentrate on this. Even masks and other healthcare products are imported in other languages, which is inappropriate,” he said. Businesses may be having problems, so there needs to be flexibility, he added.

U Ye Myint Maung, secretary of the Myanmar Food Processors and Exporters Association, said 90 percent of local products have changed their labels.

“There might be problems with imported goods. As there will be additional work involved, like putting stickers on cosmetics, it might involve a little expense,” he said.

Business owners could not concentrate on re-labelling their products because of COVID-19, but if legal inspections are carried out, they would support banning illegal imports, he said. – Translated

Source: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/covid-19-stalls-myanmar-product-label-law-enforcement.html