A package of the genuine Grace Cock Soup Mix with the barcode at the left corner. - Contributed

GraceKennedy is advising the public to be on the lookout for counterfeit Cock Soup packaged in its Grace brand sachets, which are being sold in a number of outlets across the island.

The company on Wednesday issued a press release advising that the counterfeit packages do not have the barcode which is printed in black on the lower front section (below the rooster's wings) of the sachet. In addition, they are not properly sealed.

Checks by the company turned up the counterfeit products first in the Ocho Rios market in St Ann, as well as Coronation Market in Kingston.

Michael Ranglin, chief executive officer of GraceKennedy Foods, confirmed that some of Cock Soup Mix stock, as well as sachets had been stolen but the amount is not yet known.

He explained: ""We have items moving from our storage point to our factory, and then out to the trade. Somewhere in that chain ... when we did our stock balances, we realised there was material missing and were treating it as an internal loss."

Ranglin is urging the public to be wary of any unusually good discounts on the product such as the "three Grace Cock Soup for $50" special on offer at one very popular market, since this is less than the usual price of a single sachet.

The products were not packaged in the Grace factory and so do not have the necessary barcode and were not sealed properly. For this reason, a visual inspection of the sachets can detect the counterfeit ones.