The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has directed manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers to immediately withdraw consumer goods that do not comply with mandatory product labelling requirements.
The Commission warned that businesses that continue to distribute or sell non-compliant products risk regulatory enforcement action.
The FCCPC disclosed this in a public advisory issued on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, titled “Mandatory Labelling of Manufactured Goods for Consumer Information.”
The advisory followed findings from the Commission’s market surveillance, routine inspections and quality assurance activities, which revealed that some consumer goods carried misleading or deceptive information or lacked key labelling details.
According to the Commission, some products were missing production dates, expiry or best-before dates, batch numbers, manufacturer details, ingredient lists, allergen information, country of origin and other mandatory information required on product labels.
The FCCPC said its mandate under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act includes promoting consumer safety by ensuring businesses comply with applicable labelling requirements and standards set by regulatory authorities, including the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
The Commission said proper labelling is essential because it gives consumers the information they need to make informed purchasing decisions.
It warned that deceptive, incomplete or misleading labels could deny consumers important information about products and expose them to health, safety and economic risks.
“Accordingly, the Commission directs all manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers to immediately review their inventories and withdraw from sale any consumer goods that do not comply with applicable labelling requirements,” the FCCPC said.
The Commission added that businesses that continue to distribute or sell non-compliant products risk appropriate regulatory enforcement action.
The FCCPC also urged consumers to carefully examine product labels before purchasing goods and avoid products with missing, illegible, altered, misrepresented or poor-quality labels.
The Commission’s consumer protection mandate includes safeguarding consumers’ right to information and ensuring that businesses provide accurate information about the goods and services they sell. Businesses are expected to present information in a manner that consumers can easily understand, while misleading or deceptive representations are prohibited.
The importance of product labelling has also been highlighted by research examining awareness of the risks associated with unlabelled food products among undergraduates in three Lagos State tertiary institutions: Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH) and Lagos State University of Education (LASUED).
The 2023 study found that 57.4% of respondents were unaware that unlabelled and unbranded food products were being sold within tertiary institution communities. However, 73.3% said they would not buy an unlabelled food product if labelled alternatives were available.
The findings suggest that awareness of potential risks does not always translate into safer purchasing behaviour, underscoring the importance of consumer education and effective enforcement of labelling standards.
The FCCPC has also intensified enforcement against other consumer protection violations.
In April, the Commission sealed First Place Supermarket in Guzape, Abuja, following an inspection prompted by consumer complaints. Officials found discrepancies between shelf and checkout prices, products without price tags, expired goods, improper storage of perishables and suspected counterfeit products, including rice.
Separately, the FCCPC is investigating the cement industry over concerns about possible price manipulation.
The Commission’s industry-wide investigation followed concerns about Nigeria’s comparatively high retail cement prices despite the country’s substantial limestone deposits, domestic production capacity and reported surplus installed capacity.
The FCCPC has previously taken action over cement pricing. In 2024, it criticised dealers for selling BUA Cement for between N7,000 and N8,000 per bag, compared with the company’s recommended price of N3,500 at the time.
The latest labelling directive signals continued regulatory scrutiny of businesses across Nigeria’s consumer goods market as the FCCPC seeks to strengthen compliance and protect consumers from misleading product information.
