Nigerian Bottling Company admits mislabeling production error of Limca Lime-Lemon Zero-Sugar Variant 

NBC, in its amended appeal exclusively seen by Naijaonpoint, added that “the mislabeling was accidental, not a deliberate action.” 

NBC and FCCPC have approached the Tribunal over the Commission’s N190 million penalty related to the former’s packaging of its Coke products, among other issues.

NBC, which also owns the Coca-Cola bottling franchise, disputed FCCPC’s accusation that Coca-Cola Nigeria Ltd (CNL) and NBC used allegedly misleading trade descriptions and employed unfair marketing tactics in the labelling of their Coke products, including Original Taste and Less Sugar variants.

NBC’s Amended Appeal Against FCCPC’s Accusations 

“The Respondent (FCCPC) does not have the power under the FCCPA or any other law to request the audited financial statements of the Appellant solely for the purpose of calculating or imposing fines on the Appellant for alleged violations of the FCCPA.” 

“The Appellant has already deployed the new labels for Coke Less Sugar, which labels were pre-approved by the Respondent (FCCPC). The Respondent’s approval effectively estopped (barred) it from imposing penalties for alleged breaches of the Act,” the senior lawyer added. 

“As such, the mislabelling was accidental, not a deliberate action,” he added. 

He stressed that to establish deliberateness through compelling evidence, the FCCPC was supposed to gather evidence from the company’s remaining seven factories (i.e., Maiduguri, Asejire, Ikeja, Owerri, Challawa, Port Harcourt, and Benin) to determine if the Appellant produced the zero-sugar variant of Limca Lime-Lemon with the same mislabeling.

“The Respondent made no attempt in this regard. The Respondent’s findings were based entirely on speculative inferences drawn from supposedly similar incidents involving the appellant’s Fanta Orange and Sprite products,” he added. 

“Having obtained the prior approval of NAFDAC, the inscription of the same NAFDAC registration number on the packaging of the zero-sugar and 50:50 variants of Limca Lime-Lemon was not false, incorrect, misleading, fraudulent, or deceptive,” he stated, highlighting that NAFDAC and FCCPC are agencies of the federal government. 

“The Commission fully adhered to the principles of fair hearing and natural justice during its investigation into the labelling, branding, marketing, and advertising practices of Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (NBC), as evidenced by the facts and circumstances documented in the Record of Appeal,” he stated. 

“Notably, NBC admitted the violations, including admitting to simultaneously producing Limca Lemon Lime (zero sugar) and Limca Lemon Lime (50:50 sugar) in identical packaging,” he added. 

He argued that the standard of differentiation required to prevent misleading or deceptive practices under the Consumer Protection Act is assessed from the perspective of a reasonable consumer.

He urged the Tribunal to dismiss the appeal as unmeritorious and proceed to affirm the orders of the FCCPC against NBC.