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One of the industrial sectors which has benefited immensely from advances in science and technology is the food processing industry. However, since profit is the driving force behind every industrial and commercial activity, countries have put in place regulatory agencies to protect the citizenry against the greed and profiteering of the entrepreneur. In Ghana, there are a number of regulatory bodies that are mandated to conduct on-the-spot inspection of factories, examine manufacturing processes and to test various products at the factory level before they enter the market. They include the Factory Inspectorate Division of the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare, the Ghana Standard Board, the Food and Drugs Board, the Food and Drugs Board and the Pharmacy Board. The activities of these regulatory bodies are geared towards protecting the consumer from hazardous food and pharmaceutical products, chemicals and other consumables. While these agencies may not score 100 per cent in any dispassionate evaluation of their performance over the years, a lot can nonetheless, be said for them in enforcing the laws that seek to protect the citizen. In doing so, they have come up against the tricks and anger of manufacturers and importers, especially the crooked ones who place profit above service to humankind. The nation owes a lot to the vigilance of these agencies. It is difficult, if not impossible, to imagine where the majority of the people would have been without the Food and Drugs Board, for instance. They have stood between them and manufacturers of herbal medicines. While in other jurisdictions, drugs are tested in laboratories on guinea pigs before they are finally declared wholesome, in Ghana, the opposite is the case. The herbal plant makers want to push their drugs onto the market the moment they pound their herbs, roots and barks and boil them in alcohol! The society needs to be protected. The problem the Times has, is with the so-called Consumer Rights Protection Societies. It is difficult to remember the last time the vigilance of any of these societies led to the arrest of manufacturers, wholesalers of any good or service for going against the law, such as selling expired products or selling goods without expiry dates. What do they need to be effective? It is in seeking an answer to this question that the Times is reminded to find out what is happening to the Consumer Protection Bill which seeks to empower consumers to challenge manufacturers of shoddy goods and services? The last time we checked, it has not yet received parliamentary approval. If that is true, the natural question is, why?