Festive season:

Continuous flow of essential goods ensured

The festive season is nearing and it is time for us to be ready for family get-togethers, congregations and to perform customary obligations. The Minister of Trade Bandula Gunawardene has taken steps in advance to ensure that the consumers have a continuous flow of essential goods at an affordable price during the festive season.

To achieve this, he has launched a programme with the CAA by activating Section 14 of the CAA Act No. 9 of 2003 to enter into a dialogue with the business community.

This is a progressive and innovative programme where this particular Section is used for this purpose since the inception of the Act. It is very common in other jurisdiction to enter into similar agreements to achieve benefits for the consumers as well as the traders.

We are taking steps to introduce a new culture on consumerism by giving due place to the consumer and also to the traders, manufacturers and the industrialists. We recognise the fact that trader is an essential component of the society. The traditional concept of the so-called black marketer will be replaced by a good trader who will be loved and not hated by society.

The main expectation by us is to produce consumers who are alert, educated and conversant with their rights and responsibilities. In this process, it is essential that the Government, the CAA, the Minister, the Consumer and the trader must work together with similar and same expectations and interests.

The pleasant part is that the business community has voluntarily agreed to enter into agreement to stabilise prices by taking certain amount of risk that they are generally used to.

This is a testing period in the interests of everybody. They are bound to be problematic areas when any innovative procedures are implemented.

It appears that the exercise is working. The information we receive is that prices of essential items are dropping rapidly and once the dust settled down stability will remain. And the relevant parties will absorb the system as a long-term program.

As the next phase of the exercise the Minister having consulted the CAA has taken steps to declare the following consumer items as essential items in terms of Section 18 (1) in addition to 4 items already gazetted. 1. White sugar, 2. Dried chillies, 3. Big onions, 4. Red onions, 5. Dhal, 6. Dried sprats, 7. Gram, 8. Green mung, 9. Canned fish, 10. Chicken meat.

The current position is that to increase the price of the gazetted items, the permission of CAA is mandatory. This is a process to provide the citizens of their basic needs which are essential to the life, especially to those whose income levels are comparatively low.

It is the duty of the government and the CAA to pave the way for the consumer items of quality and standard at a reasonable price. It should be noted that the concept of price control is no longer in force. The price monitoring is replaced by traditional price control procedures.

The public should be aware of these sudden issues and help the CAA to implement the intention of the Act, Government policy and the direction issued from time to time.

We also take this opportunity to remind the public of the World event which falls on March 15. The World Consumer Rights Day programme is given elsewhere in this page and we expect the active participation of the public.

Sarath Wijesinghe, Chairman, CAA.

Ordered No: 08 under Section 18 (1) of Consumer Affairs Authority Act No. 09 of 2003

The Minister of Trade, Marketing Development, Co-operatives and Consumer Services being of opinion that the following goods are essential to the life of the community having consulted the Consumer Affairs Authority, by an order has prescribed them as “specified goods” under Section 18 (1) of the Consumer Affairs Authority Act No 09 of 2003 with effect from 7th March 2007.

List of specified goods are: 1. White Sugar, 2. Dried Chillies, 3. Big Onions, 4. Red Onions, 5. Dhal, 6. Dried Sprats, 7. Gram, 8. Green Moong, 9. Canned Fish, 10. Chicken Meat

The following 4 items have already been gazetted: Cement, L.P. Gas, Milk Foods, Wheat Flour.

Consumer education and empowerment:

Bottled water: Are we drinking disease?

The growing trend among the elite and urban middle classes to go for bottled water is in troubled waters with a stunning disclosure by the Sri Lanka Standards Institute.

SLSI quality testing officer Victorine Pasqual told the PNRP that while some 300 varieties of bottled water were being marketed, only 45 varieties had been tested for quality and approved by the SLSI.

That means no one is sure what is in the other 250 varieties of bottled water and many of them may contain water, which is not fit for drinking. With little by way of regulation or monitoring to curb or stop this dangerous trend. Ms. Pasqual urged the consumers themselves to take preventive or remedial action.

According to her, consumers could take a few precautions before buying bottled water:

* Check the label and ascertain whether the SLSI standards seal is stamped on it.

* Check the date of manufacture, expiry, name and address of the manufacturer.

* See whether there are any algae at the bottom of the bottle.

* Check the quality even of the bottle.

* Press the bottle to ascertain that there are no cracks.

* Check the lid to make sure that the polythene seal is intact. Often racketeers or mushroom sellers collect discarded empty bottles and fill them from water sources which are often contaminated.

While taking these precautions we would also like to suggest that the best way out of this dangerous situation is to get back to the old way of boiling and cooling our own water and if necessary carrying some with us in a bottle.

On a world scale we see another disturbing dimension of this bottled water trend.

Manufacturers and consumers are known to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on bottled water while some two billion people have no access to pure drinking water.

Courtesy: PMRP - News

Water is as essential to our life as air

Water is as essential as air for life. The body consists of mostly water and replacement of pure water to the body should be continuous. Customarily and culturally free offer of water to a visitor or for that matter to any stranger is a part of our life and culture.

Now things have changed. Money has replaced our values and, today even in the village water has become a consumer item. In the village Kopi Kade today bottled water has replaced our natural drink Thambili.

The latest fashion in our country is to drink ‘bottled water’, which until recently used by Middle East and Western cultures, where pure water was scarce or not available. Our country is fortunate to have finest and purest water, available in abundance.

Today, even in a traditional village boutique, bottled water, aerated waters and imported cheap fast food has become main consumer commodities. Spring and the well water by the side of the paddy field is so natural, pure and soothing, that the secret of long life of our ancestors may have played a main part on food habits and living with nature.

Bottled water available in the Sri Lankan market is generally adulterated, polluted and not fit for human consumption. This truth is bitter but true. Registration of bottled water in the Health Ministry is mandatory, but the SLS mark is not.

The SLS mark is the certification of the Sri Lanka Standards Institution which is mandatory and based on ISO standards. (Government body and the member body of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) in Sri Lanka).

Out of over 100 brands of bottled water in the open market, a few are registered in the ministry and acquired the ‘SLS’ certification. Under the Food Act No. 26 of 1980, per Gazette number 1420/4 of 2005-11-21, too, locally and imported consumer items, especially food has to be registered.

This is hardly been implemented. The registration process is enforced by the Food Control Administration Unit (FCAU) of the Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry where all bottled water manufacturing plants have to be registered with them.

It is a difficult task to swim against the tide. But we have no option but to act fast and vigorously and the CAA has a moral and legal duty to pave the way for consumers to have quality and healthy consumer goods at a reasonable price. Section 7(a) of the Act is clear on this matter which states, “One of the objects of the CAA is to protect consumers against the marketing of goods or the provisions of services which are hazardous to life and property of consumers.”

The implementation is quite complicated and there are many areas of overlapping of powers functions and duties. These are matters which will be resolved in due course by negotiations as our paramount duty is to serve our masters - the citizens at large as every citizen is a consumer, on whose financial contribution the government machinery exists.

Therefore, until a proper machinery and a plan of action is implemented, let us think of a short and a long term process, to provide our people water which is necessary for life every second, without which life will end incautiously. It is a salutary sign that the Minister of Health has taken a special interest on this subject, and instructed the officials to take appropriate steps to protect the consumer.

It is time to activate the battery of scientists, inspectors and Public Health Inspectors on this project. The local authorities too has a duty to intervene with their experienced staff on this project.

We offer our unreserved support and assistance to the Minister, the Ministry and the officers concerned and request to liaise with us too at every stage in the operational process. It is time for the other Ministries too to supervise and regularise the bottling process.

(The author Sarath Wijesinghe, Attorney-at-Law and a Solicitor in England and Wales is the Chairman of the Consumer Affairs Authority. [email protected], Tel. 2399146. Hotline: 2321696. Fax: 2399148 for comments suggestions and criticism).

To be Continued

Dear consumer, do you get value for what you pay for food?

Food is an essential requirement for living. Life cannot be maintained without it. It is just important as oxygen or water. Hence, it is obvious without food we cannot survive. How many of us is aware of what we consume is safe food.

The customer/consumer and the public should know what they are buying. It is an offence to sell any food with a label or publishes an advertisement which falsely describes quality foodstuff or which is sometime misleading claims as to nutritional or dietary value of foods.

Food standards assure the customer the nature, substance and quality of food one buys with confidence. Correctly labelled foods offered for sale is assured by standards.

The label may be considered as a self advertiser for the manufacturer while for the consumer it assures quality or warns of potential hazards from preservatives, other additives, colouring matter, contaminants and age of the product.

“Label” includes any words, particulars, trade mark, brand name, pictorial matter or symbol relating to the food and appearing on the packaging of the food or on any document, notice, label, ring or collar accompanying the food.

When a name incorporates the name of a food it must be present in a significant quantity. For instance “milk food” should contain at least 70% dried milk. If the food includes the names of two or more ingredients, the ingredients present in the greatest quantity should be named first, e.g. “malt extract and cod liver oil” not “cod liver oil extract and malt extract.”

Pictorial designs should not be employed to suggest natural origins in food which contain only artificial products, e.g. lemons on the label of an artificially flavoured lemonade powder containing citric acid only. Another example is a picture of a bunch of grapes on a bottle containing imitation wine or imitation brandy.

Foreign words should not be used on labels to give false impression that the food originated from the country indicated by the language, e.g. “Chinese noodles” in Chinese or “Italian Spaghetti”, “Italian Macaroni” in Italian when these are made locally.

If a label has a nutritional claim, the substance on which the claim is made should be present in a nutritionally significant quantity. Labelling and advertising has now become so complicated and scientific that they offer almost unlimited scope for misrepresentation to the consumer.

Sometimes standards also require specific processing requirements, precautions about the storage and details about the contents. Some standards prescribe minimum limits, others maximum limits.

The primary objective/purpose of the standards is to ensure the health and safety of the consumers. Food regulations stipulate standards for many foods.

The label should inform the consumer what the food is, what is in it and how long it will remain in good condition. In general the label should include the name of the food, a list of ingredients, minimum durability, storage conditions if any and conditions of use, the name or business name and address of registered office of the manufacturer or packer or seller, the place of origin of the food, if failure to give this misleads this customer regarding the true origin of the food, and instructions for use if failure to give these may mislead the customer regarding appropriate use.

The name of the food, weight and minium durability shall appear on the label in the same field of vision.

Offences:

It is an offence under the Consumer Affairs Authority Act No. 9 of 2003,
(i) to have false, misleading claims/statements regarding nutritional uses and medical claims unless the food is capable of fulfilling the claims;
(ii) to remove, alters, obliterates, erases or defaces any label, description or price mark on any goods in respect of which a direction has been issued under Section 10 (1) or sells or offers for sale any such goods from or on which the label, description or price mark has been removed, altered, obliterated, erased or defaced. Also offences under respective regulations such as
(iii) to sell any food which is not labelled in accordance with the labelling regulations; and
(iv) to sell any food which violates the food standards or non-compliance with standards.

At present there are about 85 items that come under the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) mandatory import inspection scheme. Those who import these said items have to obtain a clearance certificate from the SLSI to sell their goods.

There is discussion within some sections of the health sector to introduce a labelling requirement for imports of Genetically Modified (GM) Food. A draft regulation has been prepared and discussed with key stakeholders.

The regulations under the Food Act No. 26 of 1980 came into effect on April 1, 2004 govern the information that should appear on a label of any pre-packed food product offered for sale, transported or advertised for sale in Sri Lanka.

This includes all imported food items as well. The directions issued under the Consumer Affairs Authority Act No. 9 of 2003 include the new features such as maximum retial price, date of expiry and the batch number for 54 items and Standards for few items.

There should not be fundamental divergence of interest between the consumer and supplier. The best option is the dialogue between consumers, industry and regulators to protect the welfare of the consumers. If consumers are not satisfied producers/traders cannot continue to be in business.

The purpose of this article is to make the consumers aware that the price and weight of measurement are not the only criteria for you to consider while purchasing. If you are to get value for your money spent then check on price, weight, standard (quality) and the labelling instructions on your purchases, whenever you do so.

Shanthini Neelakandan

Director,

Competition Promotion, CAA

Seminar on March 15

The World Consumer Day will be held on March 15 on the theme “Unethical Promotion of Drugs”. The Consumer Affairs Authority, which is the apex body on consumer protection in Sri Lanka plans to have technical sessions on the main theme and on other areas aligned with it. The event will be held between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the SLFI Auditorium at Torrington Square on Thursday, March 15.

Minister of Trade Marketing Development Co-operatives and Consumer Services Bandula Gunawardena and H.R. Mithrapala Minister of Consumer Affairs will be the Chief Guests at the function. Dr. R.M.K. Ratnayake will participate at this function.

The following personalities will participate in the function and deliver lectures on the subjects indicated against their names:-

Dr. Wickrama Weerasooria (Insurance Ombudsman) - Legal background on unethical promotions of drugs

Prof. Colvin Gunaratne - Promotions of western medical drugs

Dr. Ajantha Perera - Effective public education on unethical promotion of drugs

Dr. S.S.P. Godakandage - Unethical promotion of infant milk foods

S.S Wijeratne (Attorney-at-Law) Chairman - Legal Aid Commission