Consumers are advised to be cautious when buying roofing foils as certain types of foils are banned in Fiji.

This follows with a warning by the Trade Standards and Quality Control Office.

Attorney General and Minister for Trade Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said roofing foils that are non-compliant with Specification A1.3 of the Public Health (National Building Code) Regulation 2004 are strictly banned.

Sayed Khaiyum said this ban or declaration of dangerous goods is essentially done to avert any risk of injury or harm to the user of the product.

According to the Trade Standards Office, using sub-standard foil is a very high fire risk as they do not have a fire rating less than 5 thus resulting in rapid spread of fire.

A number of building fires have been attributed to the use of substandard foils.

Sayed Khaiyum said the sub-standard foils are cheaper than the foils that meet standard specifications and consumers need to be careful when buying these foils as they are putting the safety of their families at risk.

Sub-standard foils retails for approximately $60-$80 while the foils that meet the standard cost around $200.

He said most significantly retailers are warned to refrain from selling the sub-standard product and are required to hereby declare all stocks of the cheaper/substandard foils to the Trade Standards and Quality Control Office. Any retailer found selling the sub-standard will face prosecution and fines of up to $25,000.