- Survey has revealed a high level of consumer dissatisfaction with the quality of paging services between Hong Kong and China/Macau
- Substandard pressure cookers are potentially highly dangerous.
- How hygienic and safe are the ice cream products ?
- Tips on buying mobile phone
- Opinions towards non-smoking areas in restaurants
- Inside story on model training agencies
- Price survey on residential flats in Kwun Tong, Kowloon Bay and Choi Hung
Substandard pressure cookers are potentially highly dangerous. They pose serious risk of explosion.
Indeed, two accidents of explosion involving pressure cookers were reported within five days of each other in July last year. This prompted the Consumer Council to conduct a test on this product.
Results of the test, released today in 'CHOICE', affirmed the concern that a high proportion of pressure cookers available to consumers here, may be unsafe for household use.
The test samples were drawn not only locally but also from retail outlets in neighbouring Shenzhen and Zhu Hai in China. Altogether 11 samples - 6 of aluminium make and 5 stainless steel - were tested with reference to China's National Standard and the British Standard.
According to the test, over 70 percent of the test samples (8 out of 11) failed to comply with at least one or more of the safety requirements prescribed by both Standards.
As such substandard products may be in violation of the Consumer Goods Safety Ordinance, which came into force in October last year, the Consumer Council has notified, at the first instance, the Customs and Excise Department of the test findings.
It is understood that the Customs and Excise Department has launched an investigation but none of the pressure cookers in question could be found.
The test focused on three major safety requirements - pressure, security of lid and blockage of safety device. Out of the 11 samples, only 3 could fully pass the tests of one or both Standards.
Pressure tests
- The Safety Standards required the manufacturer to list the nominal operating pressure of the pressure cooker so as to determine whether or not the utensil being tested conforms with the safety requirements. Such information was, however, conspicuously missing on 3 of the samples in non-compliance with the Standards.
- 4 other samples failed to meet the requirements in the pressure tests.
- In particular, 2 failed the bursting pressure test as they were unable to withstand 6 times the nominal operating pressure and resulted in leakage.
- 2 also failed the test on the safety pressure relief device. The device was activated only at pressures higher than the Standard values, thus relieving the built-up pressure under a far more dangerous condition.
Security of Lid
- First, it is required that the lid should not be released or removed with only a small internal pressure; otherwise the boiled-hot contents inside may burst out, burning and injuring the users nearby. 6 samples failed this safety test.
- Second, the inside pressure of the cooker must not exceed the safety values when the lid is not locked in position; otherwise the lid may be released and the boiled-hot contents split out. 3 samples failed in this safety requirement.
Blockage of Safety Device
- 4 samples were found to be without the cap designed to prevent the blockage of the pressure regulating device while cooking.
The test also investigated the lead content of the spoiled piece in the destructible safety pressure relief device. Under certain conditions, the spoiled piece may melt at high temperature. Or the acidic steam from cooking acidic foods can release the lead from the spoiled piece, resulting in the contamination of food with lead.
As lead is highly toxic, it should not be used in cooking ware. 3 samples were tested and it was revealed that the lead contents ranged from 38 percent to 98 percent.
Consumers are strongly urged to consult the test report in this latest (236th) issue of the Consumer Council's monthly magazine 'CHOICE'.
They are advised to read and follow the instructions closely, check that the pressure regulating device and the safety pressure relief device(s) are in order, and release the built-up pressure before open the lid of the pressure cooker.
If ice cream is you - or your children's - favourite snack to beat the heat of summer, you should also be naturally concerned with its hygiene condition.
Just how hygienic and safe is the array of ice cream products on sale at supermarkets and ice cream stores?
To investigate this concern, the Consumer Council has analysed 51 ice cream products purchased from a diversity of sale outlets.
The samples comprised 20 family size/cup size ice cream, 7 ice cream cones, 16 ice cream bars and 8 ice cream confection (ice cream fingers, ice cream cakes, etc.). Most were of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry flavour. The test focused on the hygiene and nutritional aspects:
Hygiene Condition
According to the Frozen Confections By-Laws, no person should sell, offer or expose frozen confection containing more than 50,000 bacteria per gram or more than 100 coliform organism per gram. Those who fail to comply with the regulation may face a fine of $5,000, imprisonment for 3 months, and $150 for each day during which the offence has continued.
The test revealed that 2 of the 51 samples analysed were found to have exceeded the statutory hygiene limits.
One sample exceeded the standard of the Total Bacterial Count (TBC), which indicates the level of microorganisms in a product. But even if a product's TBC exceeds the standard, it is harmful to health only if it contains pathogen.
The other sample was detected to exceed both the TBC and Coliform standards. Coliform is the predominate bacteria in gut which is found in human feces. Some strains of coliform are not harmful to health while some strains may cause diarrhea and vomiting.
Although the findings do not automatically render the 2 samples in question unfit for human consumption, they do indicate that the ice cream manufacturers and vendors should make an extra effort to improve the hygiene condition of their products.
Supermarkets and ice cream retail outlets are advised to improve their management to ensure that refrigerators operate at the required temperature and that no products are being sold over a prolonged period of time.
Ice cream caterers should also maintain proper hygiene practice such as washing hands after visiting the toilet, and keeping their uniforms clean to minimise the possibility of ice cream contamination.
Consumers, on the other hand, are advised to pay heed to the packaging of ice cream products: packaging with leakage increases the possibility of bacterial contamination, ice covering the package indicates the product may have been thawed and refrozen again.
Further, purchase of ice cream placed above the freeze line of fridge is not recommended since increased temperature encourages bacterial growth. Retailers are responsible to ensure that all ice cream products are kept at appropriate compartments below the freeze line.
Nutritional Aspects
The samples were found with nutrients of: fat (5 to 28%), sugar (16 to 31%), protein (2to 8%) and energy (137 to 365 calories).
Among the products, ice cream bars with nuts and chocolate coating had the highest level of calories, followed by ice cream confections and cones. Prepacked family size/cup size ice cream was ranked the lowest in calorie content.
Parents are advised to keep their children's diet balanced; consuming too much ice cream may reduce their consumption of food containing essential nutrients for growth development such as vitamins and minerals.
A Consumer Council survey has revealed a high level of consumer dissatisfaction with the quality of paging services between Hong Kong and China/Macau.
According to the survey, based on the experience of some 3,000 users, only 32% and 34%,on average, of the respondents were satisfied with the Hong Kong/China, and Hong Kong/Macau paging service respectively.
The satisfaction rate lagged significantly behind that for local paging service with a score of 55% on average.
The satisfaction rate was based on 4 factors: message accuracy, operator politeness, transmission time and phone line pick-up time.
The survey also indicated a 22% dissatisfaction rate with the time taken to get the repair services completed. A faster repair service by paging companies is obviously desirable to reduce the inconvenience to consumers in repair service.
A price survey of paging services, conducted in May, showed variations, in some cases considerably substantial, in the monthly service charges.
For instance, the monthly charges for numeric paging service and secretarial numeric paging service ranged from $178 to $240 and $150 to $280 respectively. And the charges for Chinese paging services and secretarial Chinese paging services ranged from $228 to $270and $240 to $340 respectively.
In choosing a paging company, consumers need to consider their own particular needs, for instance, whether paging service in areas other than Hong Kong is required or not. In addition to the quality and price, consumers should also weigh such added value services as free informative message, connection with credit card, mobile phone, etc.
The survey also noted the many promotion packages for pager in the market these days. However, these packages may come with some conditions, such as requiring one year service to own the pager, or spreading the bonus over a long period of time. Consumers will do well to consider these terms before joining a package.
Buying a mobile phone is probably within reach of more people these days than ever before. But choosing the right one to suit your own particular needs may still seem tricky.
But help is on the way. Included in this June issue of 'CHOICE' is a comprehensive report on the various types and standards of mobile phones - their pros and cons – to assist your purchasing decision.
According to the report, the analog types of mobile phones are phasing out fast. People are buying digitals.
There are now 4 service operators using 3 different digital standards, namely, GSM, DAMPS and CDMA. The GSM is a European standard and the latter two are American standards.
They all utilize the radio spectrum efficiently and provide significantly higher communication capacity than the traditional analog standards.
Consumers are advised to consult this report in 'CHOICE' to familiarise themselves with some knowledge about these standards before purchase. In particular, if they prepare to use 'roaming' services (using their phones abroad), they should be even more careful in their choice.
If consumers are likely to use their mobile phones locally only, the choice of phone standard is relatively less important. Instead they should pay more attention to the quality of service of the operator.