Twizza, Dragon not banned

Extra Reporter
Netrade Distribution, the appointed importer and distributor of Twizza soft drinks in Zimbabwe, says the removal of the soft drinks from retail shops was purely a labelling matter and the soft drink is safe for consumption, contrary to earlier reports that the beverage contravened health and importation procedures.
This comes after a directive by the Ministry of Health and Child Care to have the product removed from the shelves. In a letter written to The Sunday Mail by Netrade Distribution through its lawyers, Matizanadzo and Warhust, the distributor clarifies that theirs was a temporary removal from shelves to address the labelling matter, and not the quality of Twizza.
“The Secretary of Health and Child Care wrote a letter to the Provincial Medical Director requesting that all Twizza drinks be removed from the shelves as the labelling of the ingredients did not conform with Statutory Instrument 265 of 2002,” reads the letter.
“Ours was a temporary removal which was purely a labelling matter — common to many other products — which will be corrected in the normal course of business and had nothing to do with the quality of the product. Our imports are cleared through customs and we have met all Zimra requirements to the benefit of the fiscus.”
The distributor highlighted that they willingly removed Twizza drinks from all retailers and at the same time made an application to the Ministry while correcting the anomaly.
“There was no question of a quality concern with the ingredients within the Twizza drinks. The notice concerned was a simple issue of ensuring that there was labelling conformity, which is a standard commercial process for food-related products regulated by the Ministry,” read the letter.
According to the letter, on October 14, Netrade Distribution received a written confirmation of the exemption in terms of the regulations as it had undertaken to rectify the labelling issue by January 2016.
The Twizza products were then immediately re-sold back into the market. The company also maintains that they only supply to established retailers and not vendors.
Moreover, Netrade Distribution distanced itself from Dragon energy drinks. Meanwhile, Government through the Ministry of Health and Child Care has accepted to waiver the selling and distribution of Dragon energy drink while the company corrects the labelling and import procedures.