Test uncovers misnomers and substantial variance on contents of orange juice products
Confusion reigns when it comes for the consumers to decipher the labels of prepackaged and ready-to-drink orange juice.
A Consumer Council test has found this to be the case when it examined the labelling of 20 samples of orange juice commonly available on the market. Here are some typical examples:
- 4 samples claimed conspicuously, mostly beside their product names, 100% orange juice or 100% fruit juice. But, more accurately, they are orange juice products prepared from reconstituted orange juice with water. A closer examination of the label will reveal the word "reconstituted" listed as an ingredient.
- 3 samples who called themselves variously "fresh", "natural" or "pure", were actually reconstituted orange juice. Preservatives were also found in 1 sample labelled "fresh orange juice".
- It is often difficult for consumers to differentiate between orange juice (4 samples) and those orange juice mixed with water (16 samples). Of the latter group, half were named as either "drink" or "flavoured drink", while the other half indicated reconstituted orange juice only in the ingredient list.
The confusion arises because, under the present labelling regulation, orange juice is not well and clearly defined, a situation which the Consumer Council believes needs to be improved to safeguard the consumers' right to be informed, for instance, the percentage of orange juice should be declared in the product.
Prepackaged products are now required to declare all added ingredients in the ingredient list. However, 6 samples of reconstituted orange juice did not have"water" labelled in the ingredient list despite water was artificially added.
Orange juice is generally regarded as a good source of vitamin C. Accordingly to the test, about half of the 20samples do contain enough vitamin C in 1 cup (240 ml) to meet the needs of the US Recommended Daily Allowance for an adult - 75 to 90 mg of vitamin C. With the exception of 1 sample, the rest take 2 to 3 cups to meet the US RDA.
But don't be misled by claims of"high or enriched" amount of vitamin C. As the test revealed 6 of the samples which made such claims, were found to contain no more vitamin C than those without such claims. In fact, samples with the highest quantity of vitamin C made no such claims at all.
The accuracy of these claims also left much to be desired. 2 samples were found to contain less than the declared amount by over 20%, though at the same time 4 samples had more vitamin C than their claims.
Overall, the vitamin C content ofthe samples varied substantially from 12 mg to 175 mg per cup of orange juice.Consumers can consult the test report in this May issue of CHOICE, and choose accordingly.
Depending on the consumers' preference, some samples contain more sugar than others (sugar is present naturally in oranges and may also be added in the production of orange juice). The test found the sugar content of the samples to vary from 16 g to 28 g per cup.
For comparison purpose, the Council also conducted a test on freshly squeezed orange juice. The findings provide useful reference for consumers: 1 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice(costing about $10.8) was found to contain 158 mg vitamin C which is higher than all the other prepackaged samples tested. Its sugar content was a relatively high 27 g.
The normal sugar content of orange juice should not be a matter of concern to the healthy individuals but diabetes patients are advised by nutritionists to limit the consumption of orange juice to not more than half a cup (about 120 ml) per day and, further, to avoid orange juice with sugar added in it.
The variance of Vitamin C and sugar content in orange juice products may be due to the different source of oranges, processing method and the different amount of Vitamin C or sugar added to the products. The Council suggests the Government to study the feasibility to require nutrition labelling (as in the US), so that consumers will be well informed to fit in orange juice as part of a balanced diet.
The samples were also tested for preservatives. No sulphur dioxide was detected. For those samples detected of benzoic acid, all were within the permitted regulatory limit.
In the test, all samples were found to come clean in hygiene condition. Neither E.Coli (a hygiene indicator) nor Salmonella (found to have contaminated non-pasteurized orange juice in the US) were detected.
Beauty and slimming centres in consumer complaints over unethical and misleading practices
Consumer complaints against beauty and slimming centres have continued unabated in a rising trend for the past 3years.
The number has more than trebled from 94 in 1998, to 147 in 1999 and 291 in 2000. And for the first 4 months of this year, it remained high at 99.
The vast majority of complaints have stemmed from unethical practices bordering on deception, an area of growing concern to the Consumer Council which has recommended to the Government a package of legislative initiatives to address the problem.
Highlighted in the latest issue of CHOICE are some of the complaints frequently faced by consumers of beauty and slimming establishments :
Case No. 1
A complainant paid $5,000 for the purchase of 20 coupons for beauty therapy; and no sooner had she had her first session of therapy, she was persuaded to purchase 30 more coupons for an extra$7,000. All 50 coupons were set to expire in 2 years.
Since then the complainant had encountered repeatedly extreme difficulty in booking appointment for her next therapy. Four months had elapsed and she managed to use only 5 coupons. Nonetheless every time she went for her therapy she was pushed to buy more coupons.
Case No. 2
A complainant went for an eye brow tattooing for cosmetic reasons, at a fee of $1,000. Half way through the job,she was told that she had developed allergy and so additional charges were needed immediately for the purchase of anti-allergy drugs. Under the circumstances, she had little choice but to agree to it.
Afterwards, she was asked to purchase antibiotic drugs at an extra cost of $2,500. And as her eyebrow had become red and swollen, more drug was in order at another $500. The helpless consumer ended up paying a total of $6,800.
Case No. 3
A complainant was guaranteed verbally that she could have the body hair on her armpits and legs removed permanently in5 sessions, at a fee of $88,000. During the second treatment, while she was given a facial service at the same time, and without her contact lenses on, she was suddenly handed a document and asked to put her signature on.
Later, with her contact lenses properly on, she discovered that she had in fact signed a contract stipulating that the hair removal treatment would cover a span of one year with follow-ups for another year. The complainant deemed this a breach of the guarantee that thehair removal would be permanent.
Case No. 4
A complainant signed a contract for a slimming course to improve her waistline for a fee of $10,900. Prior to signing the contract, she had verbally ascertained twice from the staff that she would not be bound to adhere to any diet plan.
As part of the course requirement,she recorded every meal of the day for 3 months including meals she had of porkchop and chicken rice. She was subsequently accused of not following the course instructions and asked to sign a statement to the effect that she had breached the contract, to which she refused on the grounds that she was misled to believe that the diet requirement was waived on her. The complainant was dissatisfied with the final result - a reported loss of only 1 inch to her overall waistline,but the centre insisted that she had breached the contract in the first place.
Through the mediation of the Council, complainants in most cases were able to obtain some form of redress or the operators agreed to improve their sales practices. These complainants clearly demonstrated the incidence of misleading and unfair practices in these consumer transactions. Consumers are advised to bear in mind the following:
- Before joining any beauty or slimming plan, ask to read the contract carefully; and sign only if you find it agreeable. Should an operator be unable to provide any contract or receipt, or refuse to record oral promises in writing, it is better to leave.
- Consumers have the right to be informed if the methods for slimming are safe and effective. The centre should offer detailed information to its clients: the theories for the slimming, scientific evidence to support such theories, etc. Consumer should also enquire about the health effects of any drugs and equipment used.
- Avoid any treatment requiring surgical operation or registered medicines. It is against the law for a slimming centre to offer such services. It is also against medical code of practice for a centre to recommend to its clients surgical doctors for such services.
Price survey to assist your shopping for broadband internet service provider
Broadband internet services are no doubt in big demand these days. But how price competitive are they?
The Consumer Council has recently conducted a price survey covering 29 broadband internet plans offered by 10service providers in the field.
The findings are as revealing as hey are useful to the price conscious consumers, for great variations could be found in the pricing structures of broadband services.
For instance, the charge on broadband installation could be anything from zero to $600 depending on which service provider you approach. And some service providers charge, besides the monthly service fee, a monthly rental for the equipment, too.
Further, if the usage rate is 50hours per month, the monthly fee could range from $192 to over $400. Whereas if the usage rate is 100 hours per month, the fee ranged from $208 to more than$500.
Be wary of free gift or special discount rate. It may entail a commitment that you regret later. Some service providers bind their customers for a minimum period of time of 12 months. In the event the customer wishes to terminate the service within this period, a penalty could be incurred.
If you have high expectations in the speed of broadband service, bandwidth is definitely one crucial factor to consider. Consumers are advised to find out beforehand if the bandwidth of the service plan is "shared" or "dedicated".
Consumer dissatisfaction of telecommunications services, including the internet, is a frequent source of consumer complaints to the Council. The survey report cited some typical complaints related to broadband service.
A complainant was persuaded to take on a trial for broadband internet service for 1 month, to which he agreed and signed a contract. Later, as he was dissatisfied with the service and wanted to terminate it, he learned to his dismay that he had actually signed a contract for 1 year.
Consumers must therefore always read with due care the terms and conditions of the contract before signing it.If they find the information to be at variance with what they have been told,insist that it be written down on the contract.
In another complaint, the complainant who already owned a 56k dial-up internet account, later switched to broadband and requested the service provider to terminate the existing service plan. A few months later, he was shocked to discover that the service provider was still collecting the fees of both service plans from his account.
Consumers should be aware that some service providers require a written form of notice for termination of service, they should therefore follow up with their request and also check the bills carefully.
Council's analysis of 54 hospital and surgical medical insurance plans
For the average consumers, medical insurance is too complex but too important an issue not to pay heed to -ideally, before it's too late.
To provide consumers with the necessary guidance, the Consumer Council has conducted a massive market survey and analysed a diverse 54 hospital and surgical medical insurance plans offered by 16 major insurers.
Consumers are strongly urged to consult the report for a up-to-date comprehensive review of what the market can offer and what choice is available to best suit their own individual needs and requirements.
The analysis included medical insurance plans ranging in annual premium from several hundred dollars (the budget/basic plan) to as much as over $20,000 (the luxury plan). Generally speaking, the level of fees reflects a "trade-off between coverage and premium".
But different plans possess the irown unique features and costs to suit individual needs. So it is not necessarily, when comparing the various plans, a simple matter of the more premium the greater the coverage.
For the reference of consumers, as a first step to choosing an insurance plan, the report prioritises various insurance covers into 3 categories:
First and foremost, the basic essentials such as: room and board charges, in-hospital doctor/specialist call fees, surgical charges, operating theatre and anesthetist's charges, and miscellaneous fees.
Second , the options for more comprehensive covers such as: intensive care unit expenses, post-surgery outpatient benefit, home nursing expenses, emergency outpatient and additional accident benefits.
Third , further protection that consumers can opt depending on individual needs such as: compassionate death benefit, accidental death benefit, medical accident and incident benefit,worldwide emergency assistance services, outpatient surgery, and long term illness.
In addition, the report offers useful and practical guidelines to aid consumers in the choice of medical insurance. The more salient points which consumers will do well to heed:
- The maximum benefit. This could mean the daily maximum times the maximum days or alternatively, per disability, confinement, operation, policy year or policy. Substantial variations exist among the insurers on the maximum level of compensation.
- Classification of surgical operation. Insurers vary in their classification of the types of operations and therefore the maximum benefit of a particular operation, as a ratio of the maximum benefit for surgical operations, could differ from insurer to insurer. Obtain and study the schedule of Benefits beforehand.
- Conditions for claims. This may involve proof and definition of accident, medical negligence, confinement, total and permanent disablement.
- Age limit for renewal. The upper age limit for renewal ranges from 59 to 74. One insurer sets no age limit but caps the maximum yearly benefit for age 65 or over.
- Exclusions.As revealed in a recent survey of the Consumer Council, medical insurance policies are full of exclusions that would exempt the insurers from paying compensation to a whole lot of illnesses, conditions or treatments. Read the small print of the policy carefully.
Latest test shows significant variations in battery performance of mobile phones
Great strides have been made inthe design and features of mobile phones but significant variations remain in the performance of the batteries.
Results of the Consumer Council's latest test on 24 new models of GSM/PCS handsets showed that while such important aspects as the intelligibility (i.e. clarity of voice) and sensitivity of reception were generally satisfactory, battery performance was found to vary significantly.
According to the test, the standby time of some models could run up to as high as 480 and 530hours while some (the older models) remained as low as 56 and 60 hours.
The Council has,since 1998, been in co-operation with the Europe-based International Consumer Research and Testing (ICRT) on the comparative testing of mobile phones and published the results in CHOICE.
Innovations in the area of design and features are clearly evident in the latest batch of test samples. Mobile phones these days are taking over a whole lot of functions of other electronic gadgets.
For example, among the samples, 2 models are designed with WAP (Wireless Application Protocol)feature which can be used to access the internet, and built-in MP3 player tha tcomes with earphones serving also as a handsfree device. When there is incoming call, the music automatically stops and the user can talk directly !
2 other models boost an equally impressive array of features: besides WAP, email feature which can be used to send and receive emails directly, and PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) that operates as phone/address book, schedule calendar, etc. !
These latest multi-function models are, not surprisingly, priced at the upper end of the scale - between $3,500 and $4,100.