Business Consumer Affairs

Consumers have important role to play

There is a provision in the existing Consumer Affairs Authority Act, which states “promote, assist and encourage the establishment of Consumer Organisations”, thus it is one of the aims and objectives of the Consumer Affairs Authority. Needles to say that a Consumer Organisation is one of the main pre-requisite of consumerism.

Although the CAA is actively involved in regulating the services and prices of goods of quality and of high standard, it is not that possible to achieve this objective without the help and assistance of the consumers.

It is with this in mind the CAA commenced assisting the consumers to organise themselves in all areas in the island and form Consumer Associations, as Consumer Associations are very effective in several parts of the world.

These organisations are placed at high levels in very many countries like USA, Japan, Australia, UK, Singapore, India etc. The CAA too is following this principle and as it is embodied in the Act itself, initiated organising Consumer Organisations targeting at least 1000 for the start.

Have we achieved this? Statistics reveal that up to now only 226 Consumer Organisations have been established. This is not an encouraging figure. Besides, are these organisations actively involved in bringing up problems to the CAA. This too is minimal.

Why do we have these organisations? What benefits are the Consumers going to derive at? It is very simple and straight forward to form an association. We expect at least a minimum of 20 members of the public/ consumers to form the organisation.

It has to be registered with the CAA. The motive of the Consumer Organisation is to organise the Consumers to enter into dialogue with traders and others concerned and to co-ordinate with CAA for the common good.

Promoting consumer education is being aggressively undertaken among schoolchildren, various groups of people - workers, teachers, staff of various organisations etc which should end up in organising Consumer Organisations, after all, all are Consumers! “Consumer” means “any actual or potential user of any goods or services made available for a consideration by any trader or manufacturer”.

Dear Consumers, it is time for you to give some thought to this important aspect of consumerism. We are now living in a vibrant democracy and your voice as an organisation will be very effective to prove your point. This will of course, help to solve your problems.

As we have always emphasized, you help us for us to help you. You be partners; but not on-lookers!

A.L. Mohideen Bawa
Executive Director
CAA.

Consumer is sovereign

We all are concerned about our rights, talk about our rights, write books, lengthy articles etc. about our rights and preach about our rights.

There are numerous rights that we enjoy such as Human Rights, Child Rights, Women’s Rights, Workers’ Rights, Consumer Rights etc.

But do we for a moment think about our duties, responsibilities or obligations towards our families, towards our employers, towards our society?

There are individuals, Government and Non Government Organisations who will assist us, support us, encourage us, speak on behalf of us if our rights are violated.

But it is heartening to note that we do not find any organisation which will come forward when we do not discharge our duties, responsibilities, or obligations towards our family, towards our employer, towards our society and towards the country at large.

As consumers it is true that we should be concerned about our rights but also we should give the same level of consideration towards our responsibilities as both rights and responsibilities go hand in hand. Through serious consideration of the responsibilities only we should be able to safeguard our rights as consumers.

As consumers, you have to be more vigilant about the prevailing market situations, availability of goods and the quality and standards of goods.

We should also be aware about the family consumption patterns and should be able to adjust the consumption patterns according to the availability of goods and avoid buying them when the prices go up due to various reasons.

Eg. You can avoid purchasing upcountry crop during rainy seasons when the prices go up and instead purchase vegetables grown in the low country which will be available in abundance for a cheaper price.

During ancient times when technology has not developed as at today our housewives have always used various methods to preserve food items specially the items which you find in abundance during the particular seasons/harvesting times.

Pickles, dried fish, chutneys etc. are some of the methods adopted by ancient people to preserve food in order to consume during non-seasonal times.

When purchasing electrical or electronic appliances try to buy from reputed dealers and go for reputed brand names. Although they may cost you a little more, the extra rupee you pay goes a long way.

Always insist on the warranty and fill up all required from accurately so that you are not only covered for manufacturer’s defects but you will become entitled for repairs during the period of warranty. If the seller fails or ignores to give any warranty, report it to the relevant authorities.

Be extra cautious about what is printed in small letters in a warranty card. This also applies to services specially when obtaining insurance policies.

When purchasing processed food items in packets, bottles, tins, cans, containers etc. always read the labels, specially the date of expiry/date of manufacture. Maximum retail price, name of the manufacturer etc. Do not buy items which do not have any label although it may be cheaper in price.

Consumers must be always assertive and be actively involved in order to ensure a fair deal as consumers would be exploited if they remain passive consumers.

Consumers should never be carried away by advertisements. The consumer should be able to look at a product analytically and think and act critically.

In such a situation the trader will not be able to take him for a ride with advertising gimmicks. It is not the average consumer that the traders target by their advertisements but most of them target children which has become really a tough job on the parents.

It is our duty to teach our children on food habits, nutritional values etc. from a very young age in a way they could understand, specially in schools and at home.

Consumers should always be able to distinguish needs from wants specially when you possess ‘plastic money’. Make sure that you buy what you need because you tempt to spend more when you carry plastic money with you. If you analyse your needs and wants, before you buy, you will not regret later.

As far as possible avoid shopping during festive seasons and never be carried away by various special offers, sales, easy payment schemes etc. which are tricks played by traders in order to attract customers.

Always be mindful about the prices prevailing just before any festive season and compare them with the special offers, sales, easy payment schemes etc. which are tricks played by traders in order to attract customers.

Always be mindful about the prices prevailing just before any festive season and compare them with the special offers etc. and decide for yourself whether its worth buying it or not.

Also you have to be vigilant about the quality of the items offered during these seasons in various ways and methods.

We are all consumers and we have to be mindful that the ideal economy where the consumer is sovereign is something that is hard to achieve. Give some thought to what has been stated in this article and try to act with responsibility as a consumer. Then you can be happy about yourself that you have done your part as a consumer.

Deepthi Tissera, Actg.
Director General, Director, Legal, CAA

How junk food affects your child

Due to the socio-economic conditions prevailing in the country today, more parents used to give instant food/ready to eat or drink food/junk food to their children who are in a hurry to go to school.

Isn’t it a common sight that we can see schoolchildren and mothers at sales outlets impatiently waiting to get short eats for breakfast/lunch for their children.

This may be due to various reasons like the non-availability of time, specially for working mothers to prepare breakfast/lunch at home, preference of the children to have instant food rather than traditional breakfasts like kadale, green gram, kiribath etc.

It is high time that parents think about the advantages and disadvantages of this practice in short term as well as long term. Parents are ultimately responsible to feed their children and sometimes parents may be telling their children to eat healthy food.

But the aggressive marketing strategies used by the companies aiming at the children, most of the times, undermine the parents’ effort in encouraging their children to select best foods for them.

The impression given by the food advertisements are so strong that the children thinks that best for them is the food/drinks that they see in the Television. Sometimes parents are unaware of the messages their children get on the web site and in schools.

One of the major temptations for the junk food is food marketing, advertising sponsorship and promotion activities done by the companies. They always try to show that the children can become a genius by eating or drinking these products.

Also they target the teenagers that they can become a member of a particular social class by going for these products. They mislead the parents saying that these food/drinks are very good for the brain development of their child.

The types of adverts used by the companies are TV advertisements, interactive web sites, film promotions, material for schools, Viral marketing (emails, games), Free toys or prizes, sports promotions, use of celebrities, use of cartoon characters, introduction of innovative food products, on pack promotions including stickers, tattoos etc, holiday promotions etc.

It is reported that unhealthy diets are a major cause of heart disease, diabetes and at times cancer which are on the increase especially in low and middle income earning countries. These preventable diseases cause a massive cost to human life, people’s livelihood, health service and the economy of the country at large.

The human productivity will go down due to lack of efficiency resulting in bad health conditions. As per the Consumers International, about 22 million children around the world under the age of 5 years are already overweight or obese.

The Consumers International and its members are campaigning to stop the marketing of unhealthy food to children. Moreover, they have asked the World Health Organization (WHO) to introduce an international code on the marketing of unhealthy food to children.

The weekly Epidemiological Report published by the Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition has published an article on the “Harmful effects of Soft Drinks”.

That article mentions that soft drinks can increase one’s risk for numerous health problems. Some of these health problems are obesity, diabetes, tooth decay, osteoporosis, nutritional deficiencies, heart disease and many neurological disorders.

Moreover it points out that a serious effect of soft drinks on people’s health is the correlation between soft drink consumption and the increased risk of bone fractures and osteoporosis.

It says that the large amounts of sugar, bubbles caused by carbon dioxide, and phosphoric acid that are found in soft drinks removes nutritious minerals from bones to become weak and increasing risk for them to break.

This article further points out that the real challenge we are facing today is the advertising campaign carried out by those companies involved in the soft drink industry. They attract the teenagers by various advertisements and billboards.

They use mismatching set of values with the local culture, their product as a status symbol. And fashion smartness to promote their range of products.

As a consumer, one must always be concerned on your health when selecting food/drinks in the market. The basic indicator that can be used by anyone to see whether you have the right weight for your height is the Body Mass Index.

By knowing the Body Mass Index one can get an idea on whether you are in the safe region as far as your weight is concerned.

Body Mass Index (BMI)

Body Mass Index is the weight in respect of the height. It is important to know your Body Mass Index and to see whether you are in the safe region.

* Measure you weight in kilograms

* Workout your height in meters and multiply the figure by itself

* Divide the weight by the height squared

For example, you might be 1.6 m tall and weight 65 kg.

BMI = 65/1.6x 1.6=24.54

WHO BMI classification

* Normal BMI between 18.5 and 24.99

* Over weight with a BMI > 25

* Obese with a BMI > 30

By knowing your BMI you can see whether you are in the safe region and also plan how your diet must be planned in order to avoid health problems.

Chandrika Thilakaratne
Director Consumer Affairs and
Information, C.A.A.

Questions and Answers

Q1: How do you assess food safety?

Ans: Food safety is determined by the levels of contaminants, adulterants, naturally occurring toxins or any other substance injurious to health existing in food.

Q2: What are the major food hazards?

Ans: Micro bio, contamination, chemical residues, physical hazards, decomposition, adulteration, etc.

Q3: Name few chemical contaminants?

Ans: Natural toxins, industrial chemicals, agricultural chemicals, veterinary drugs, food additives, processing aid, packaging material etc.

Q4: Give some examples of physical contaminants?

Ans: Glass, insects, hair, sand etc.

Q5: Where are micro contaminants?

Ans: Bacteria, moulds, viruses, parasite.

Consumer tips

Living standards are rising and so are the Cost of Living, unemployment and worries of the future. In this situation of ever increasing demands, money saved is money earned. So plan for your future while judiciously living the present and not repeating avoidable urges of the past.

1. Live within your means: Wait until you have the money before you buy something.

2. Ignore the advertisements: Ignore advertisements that whet your appetite for stuff you don’s need. If you don’t go shopping, you won’t spend money.

3. Take care of what you have: Simple attention to preventive health practices will save you a lot of money. Extend this principle to the upkeep of all your possessions. Think how much money you would save if you simply decided to use things even 10% longer.

4. Research Value, Quantity, Durability and Multiple use: Durability is critical for something you plan to use for the next 20 years. Also multiple use is a factor, one heavy duty pressure cooker can (and should) replace a half dozen appliances like rice cooker.

5. Stop Using Money to Impress Other People: They are probably so lousy trying to impress you that they will not notice your efforts.

6. Make a price list: Keep track of prices on the items you buy most frequently in a small pocket note-book, Then set a goal to only buy those items when they are at their cheapest.

7. Check bulk prices: Do not assume that bulks is cheaper, Compare cost by the gram or kilogram. Don’t forget to include the value of free gifts.

8. Shop Alone: If you take the kids, have them spend their allowances on extras. Or place a limit on the money they can spend on extras.

9. Free Gifts & Bulk Buying: Don’t buy an item just because there’s a free gift with it. Or to qualify for a scheme. Buy only those items like soap or detergent which you would use anyway.

10. Create a Balanced Budget: make a list of your monthly bills and basic needs like housing, utilities, groceries, petrol, etc. and add them up.

Now make a list of extra expenses like gifts, insurance, repairs, eating out, etc. If there’s surplus, it’s great. If not. it’s time to think of what to cut.