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The NCRS has recalled the 32.5 N Econo Cement product for not complying with prescribed strength requirements.
- The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications has recalled a ‘substandard’ Econo Cement product.
- The regulator said the ‘high-risk’ product has failed to meet requirements for prescribed strength.
- The product ‘failed dismally’ on safety tests and was found to pose ‘critical’ safety risks – which could include building collapse and sinkholes in roads.
- For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page.
South African company Econo Cement has been accused of having a ‘substandard’ product by the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS).
The regulator has asked consumers and hardware stores to participate in a nationwide recall of Econo Cement’s “CEM V/A S-V 32.5 N” product after investigations found it failed to meet the minimum requirements of prescribed strength.
CEO of the NRCS, Duncan Mutengwe, said the move was in the public interest to ensure the product does not pose a risk to South Africans and the economy at large.
Mutengwe explained:
The product failed dismally in terms of what they are selling it to be. It was supposed to be 32.5 N [the most commonly used cement with ordinary early strength], but our tests found the results much lower. Consumers need to know because it does have critical safety risk features attached to it.
He said the NRCS had ordered the company to stop manufacturing the product, and the body will also confiscate all the stocks currently on shelves.
The company received a letter of authority in 2019 after initial tests had found it had met industry requirements. However, Mutengwa’s letter of authority that provides for the product’s sale has been withdrawn with immediate effect.
NRCS inspections manager Rhoda Masupye said the regulatory body found that the product had failed the requirements for prescribed strength as far back as May this year.
Speaking to News24, she said the body decided to intensify its investigation that initially began in June, after receiving an influx of complaints from businesses for this particular product.
Substandard product samples were found in parts of Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and Mbombela in Mpumalanga. A sample was also taken from the manufacturers themselves and was also found to be failing the prescribed strength requirement, said Masupye.
She added:
It is a high-risk product. It goes into construction of different buildings, and even roads. The cement as a key product might cause building collapses and sinkholes.
According to the NRCS, if the cement is found to have led to a collapse in buildings or any other infrastructure damage, consumers would be able to take recourse through the Consumer Protection Act.
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