LAHORE: Pakistani consumers are facing a dual menace -- adulteration in food, medicines and industrial products, as well as the proliferation of counterfeit goods.
Adulteration refers to lowering the quality of a product by adding inferior, harmful or unauthorised substances. While adulteration involves mixing substandard or dangerous materials into genuine products, counterfeiting entails creating entirely fake products that imitate established brands. Both practices cause economic losses and compromise product performance.
Food adulteration is a major issue in South Asia, with common practices across the subcontinent. In Pakistan, milk adulteration involving detergent, starch, and chemicals, along with tainted cooking oils, toxic food colouring, and formalin-treated meats, remains widespread. While the government has taken action, enforcement remains weak.
In India, reports highlight high levels of pesticide residues, artificial ripening agents such as calcium carbide in fruits, and contamination in dairy, spices, and grains. Despite laws such as the Food Safety and Standards Act, enforcement is inconsistent. Bangladesh faces similar challenges, with formalin found in fish and vegetables, textile dyes in sweets, and even artificial eggs and rice. Although the government has cracked down on major offenders, the issue persists.
Developed countries have stricter food safety regulations and enforcement, making large-scale food adulteration rare. However, occasional scandals still occur. Strong food safety laws, advanced testing, and severe penalties significantly reduce the frequency of adulteration in these countries.
Among industrial products, homeowners and businesses in Pakistan often purchase cables labelled as “100 per cent copper” that actually contain cheaper metals such as aluminium or iron. This misleading practice results in poor conductivity, safety risks including overheating and fire hazards, and economic losses. Adulteration extends to various sectors, including medicine and construction materials, leading to reduced efficiency, safety risks, and financial harm.
Fake replicas are widespread in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. In developed countries, strict intellectual property laws, strong customs enforcement, and consumer protection regulations make counterfeiting more difficult. However, luxury counterfeit goods such as fake Gucci or Rolex items still exist in black markets. Fake chargers and batteries sometimes enter Western markets through online platforms. In contrast, counterfeit products are openly sold in Pakistani markets with minimal regulatory action.
The widespread availability of counterfeit goods hinders foreign direct investment in several ways. International investors and brands are discouraged from entering markets where intellectual property violations are rampant and enforcement is weak. Many international automakers have raised concerns about counterfeit spare parts in Pakistan. The sale of low-quality fake parts discourages global manufacturers from expanding operations or setting up local production facilities due to the risk of reputational damage and declining sales of genuine parts.
Many tech brands suffer from the widespread availability of low-quality and cheap smartphones, chargers, and accessories in markets in Pakistan. Several software companies face high levels of piracy in Pakistan, limiting direct investment from global IT firms and reducing Pakistan’s potential to become a regional hub for tech development. Clothing and shoe brands also face extensive counterfeiting, with fake products widely available in local markets. While several foreign brands have expanded into India and Bangladesh, they have largely avoided Pakistan due to weak brand protection laws. Counterfeit goods disrupt fair competition, reducing incentives for companies to enter or expand in the country.
Both India and Bangladesh have strengthened their legal frameworks, enforcement mechanisms, and industry collaborations to combat counterfeiting. Pakistan can adopt similar measures by improving customs enforcement and cracking down on counterfeit markets, implementing intellectual property registration for brands at border control, working with e-commerce platforms to remove fake listings, and encouraging foreign brands to establish local monitoring units. Stronger regulatory action and enforcement are crucial to addressing the growing threat of counterfeiting and adulteration, safeguarding consumer rights, and attracting foreign investment.