The Zambia Compulsory Standards Agency (ZCSA) says it is consulting stakeholders on 42 proposed compulsory standards covering products ranging from food and chemicals to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and sanitary pads as part of efforts to strengthen consumer and environmental protection.
ZCSA Public Relations Officer, Onishias Maamba, said the consultations followed the completion of the drafting process for the proposed standards, which are expected to expand the agency’s regulatory oversight.
Among the products covered by the proposed standards are chemical and food products, beverages, cigarettes, LPG, cosmetic creams, lotions and gels for skin care, disposable and reusable sanitary pads, and maize bran.
Maamba said introducing additional compulsory standards would strengthen the agency’s operations and broaden its regulatory interventions to protect consumers.
He said the current consultation phase followed extensive discussions with the Business Regulatory Review Agency (BRRA) on the structure and procedures for conducting a Regulatory Impact Assessment of all 42 proposed standards.
“During the course of the consultations, ZCSA received comments from stakeholders from various sectors of the economy to gather valuable insights and feedback on the contents of the proposed compulsory standards as well as the planned implementation modalities,” Maamba said.
He said the stakeholders consulted included representatives from both the public and private sectors with interests in the products and services covered by the draft regulations.
Maamba said the consultations were intended to ensure that the proposed standards reflected stakeholder input and the consensus reached through the engagement process.
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He said the development of the new compulsory standards was expected to be completed by the end of 2026, with implementation scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2027.
Maamba said they had declared 41 additional standards compulsory in 2025 through Statutory Instrument No. 20 of 2025, covering packaging materials, fertilisers, fish feed, food products, lubricants, fuels, beverages and construction materials, among other products.
He said the introduction of the 41 standards increased the number of products covered by compulsory standards by 67 percent, as the agency sought to improve protection of public health, safety and the environment.
They currently regulates 102 imported and locally manufactured products under compulsory standards.
These included food products, beverages, chemicals, household electrical and similar appliances, fertilisers, fuel, cement, used motor vehicles and used textile products, among others.
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