WHAT TYPE OF RETAIL SURVEILLANCE DOES CSA CONDUCT?
CSA International conducts two distinct types of market surveillance, overt and covert. Overt surveillance is used when Investigators from CSA International’s Audits & Investigations team visit a retail outlet to help ensure that the products being sold on the shelves conform to the same applicable standards as the sample items originally tested by CSA International. In this case, investigators visit a retail outlet and inform store personnel that they will be inspecting store items and ask for consent and cooperation. Most retail outlets in Canada are subject to overt investigations and cooperate willingly. Covert surveillance is used when investigators suspect a retail outlet may be knowingly selling counterfeit goods. In this case, investigators will visit the location, conduct undercover surveillance and will purchase a suspect item and return it to CSA International laboratories for testing.
