On the 20th of January 2017, I was minding my own business somewhere when I received a video in a whatsapp group. The video was of a guy (Seli) at a place that looked like a drinking spot, complaining about a product he had purchased with his friend. They had purchased a drink labeled ‘Blue Jeans Energy Drink’ but after consuming it, they realized that the label was coming off. After peeling of the Blue Jeans label, they found that the original label of the drink was ‘Wild Bird’ but had been covered with a Blue Jeans label.
Naturally, I was worried just like all my colleagues in the group and we talked endlessly about how wicked and callous some people can be by selling to the public a pseudo product. We all called on Budget Cash and Carry (BC&C), the sole distributors of Blue Jeans Energy Drink, to do something about it to make us feel more secure when we purchase the drink. That was where and how the conversation ended, with us hoping and expecting that the product importers would help shield us from deceptive individuals.
Then on the 23rd of January, around 10am, I was listening to Atinka FM (104.7) when I heard an LPM concerning the Blue Jeans issue. As the announcer began, I was excited, I was happy that Budget Cash and Carry had been quick to address the issue. I waited to hear their advice to the public as to what to do in this situation. Then I heard the bomb. In short, it was something like this- Budget Cash and Carry apologizes to the general public and informs and assures them that the re-labeling was done by them (Budget Cash &Carry)!! I felt betrayed, raped, taken advantage of and dumped by the roadside.
Their reason for importing a different product into the country and then re-labeling it as Blue Jeans was because of a packaging error.
I can’t begin to list and discuss the barrage of problems that come with this action!
Manufacturer
Budget Cash And Carry says there was a packaging error from the manufacturer and that is what caused the problem. Who is the manufacturer? A look on the Blue Jeans Can indicates that it was ‘made for’ Budget Cash& Carry and was approved by HIA. Halal International Authority (HIA) is an independent regulatory body that ensures that goods they regulate comply ‘with the dictates of Islamic Doctrine. For this reason the ‘HIA certifies logistics platforms at ports, dry ports and airports, including the Halal certification of transport whether it be transport of terrestrial, sea or air.’(HIA website). Halal is an Islamic word which means ‘lawful or permitted’.
The long and short of it is HIA has certified the product but we do not know who manufactures the product because it is not indicated on the can. The FDA regulations are explicit on how pre-packaged foods should be labeled. The FDA instructs that the name and complete address of manufacturer or agent should be indicated on the package. This is absent in the case of Blue Jeans. Blue Jeans indicates the country of origin (Italy) but does not provide us with the manufacturer. This means that as we consume Blue Jeans day by day and FDA says it’s okay to drink it, we do not even know which company in Italy does it, their mission, objectives etc. One might say we do not need all that to enjoy a can of sugar and salt solution but in cases such as this, it becomes necessary for us as consumers to assure ourselves, seeing the FDA is sometimes not too concerned, that we are consuming from an organisation that has its house in order. But again, FDA in collaboration with Budget Cash And Carry have robbed us of this too since this information is absent.
It would have been instructive to know the company that makes these drinks to help us understand why they would label Blue Jeans, Wild Bird. How can such a mistake happen? What else do they produce that could have caused mislabeling? What I strongly suspect is the company(whoever they are) makes energy drink, then labels it with different names depending on which country it is going to and what name the distributor has agreed upon. Energy drinks like Rox and Red Bull have websites where one can find out their location, what they do et.al. but Blue jeans website and any information about them is conspicuously missing.
Budget Cash & Carry assured consumers that Wild Bird was safe to drink and that it was as good as Blue Jeans. Dear BCC, Wild Bird may be as good as Blue Jeans but it is NOT Blue Jeans. By BCC claiming the anomaly was a labeling error, they mean that the contents of the can are Blue Jeans but the labeling is Wild Bird. However, BCC goes on to mention that they have produced FDA with a certificate of freesale amongst others. A certificate of freesale is proof that the product being imported is sold on the open market of the originating country and has been approved for export. Does that mean that in Italy, they also have Blue Jeans in Wild Bird cans? If they do not, then the certificate of freesale will not apply to what we have in this country because what we have here is an ‘anomaly’ or is the anomaly a normal anomaly in Italy?
Food and Drugs Authority
So what is the Food and Drugs Authority doing about it? Days after the video came out, it was reported in various media outlets that the Food and Drugs Authority have ordered a cessation of the distribution of the said consignment of Blue Jeans Energy drink. According to Peacefmonline, the FDA boss,Mr. Hudu Mogtari stated , ‘’We wish to assure the public that the FDA has commenced investigations into the matter and would take the necessary regulatory measures and actions to protect public health and safety’’. Now this should come as an assuring piece to me but it doesn’t. Not because I am especially hard to please but it is because Budget Cash& Carry claims FDA is already aware of this and has given them the green light! This story can be found on the BusinessGhana website. Here you go with the link – http://www.businessghana.com/site/news/business/138947/legal
The title of the article is, ‘Re-labeled Blue Jeans safe for consumption’ and it quotes the CEO of Budget Cash and Carry, Joseph Kweku Egyir Aggrey as having stated that, “the anomaly has also been brought to the attention of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), with certificate of analysis, health certificate and a certificate of freesale from the manufacturer to support the claim of product safety, quality and origin.”
So now you see why I am confused? Which is which? Who is pretending here? FDA whips out their lash the minute the video comes out but Mr. Aggrey (CEO, BC&C) claims they know about this. The news article Mr. Aggrey is quoted to have said this was as far back as the 13th of December, 2016. Is Mr. Aggrey giving us incorrect information? That will be super serious and a slight on the FDA. Is the authority feigning ignorance? Why would they give the go ahead to Budget Cash and Carry to distribute the relabeled drinks in December and then feign ignorance in January? That would mean they know something is inherently wrong with their arrangement with Budget Cash and Carry concerning their relabeling and now that the truth is out they are retracing their steps. Although I cannot say for sure whether FDA did indeed know about this, I hardly think that Mr. Aggrey will involve the FDA in this matter if the FDA did not have prior knowledge of this. So is the government authority doing this just to make us ‘see’ them in action? To give a false sense of safety? I can’t think far.
Budget Cash & Carry
To the benefit of Budget Cash & Carry, businessghana was not the only news portal to have carried the story. Businessghana cited dailygraphiconline as their source for the story, suggesting that they may have tried their best to inform the public who might have been too busy with festivities to notice.
Nevertheless, this does not let them off the hook. If the sole distributors of a drink resort to actions which are akin to what imposters will do, don’t they think this is opening doors for people to put more fake products on the market? I can imagine an imposter’s mouth drooling with the news that Blue Jeans company says if you see a different product with a Blue Jeans sticker pasted on it, do not worry, it is still Blue Jeans. God knows how many impostors capitalised on this lapse and produced drinks that have been consumed by unsuspecting victims. It is like Budget Cash and Carry took us to the slaughterhouse and handed over the knife to impostors.
The Ghanaian public has been introduced to Blue Jeans and that is what they have known and come to love. Some people may like it even because they are not allergic to any of the stated ingredients. For Budget Cash & Carry to bring a different brand of drinks and then re-label it Blue Jeans is not just dishonest but downright reckless. If this new drink has ingredients that someone who takes Blue Jeans is allergic to, this could cause serious problems. Budget Cash& Carry will be on their way to court if they were in another country for this betrayal of trust.
I do not want to believe that the Public Relations officer of the organisation was in the know. I will be mighty surprised if he or she did not outline to B C& C the dangers of their actions and the damage it could cause to their image. Probably the PRO like in many organizations is not given a management role and thus his or her opinion is not considered when it comes to such matters.
I look forward to the press briefing Budget Cash & Carry will have and the explanations they will give. I look forward especially to the seeming contradiction between Mr. Aggrey’s claim and the FDA’s actions. I look forward to knowing who the manufacturer of Blue Jeans is and what caused the anomaly. Ultimately, I look forward to a nation where we can consume products without fearing any untoward side effects.