Gas station gifts are a lesson in `let the buyer beware'

Gas stations are trying to lure customers with promotional giveaways and gimmickry, but a consumer advocacy group says customers may be getting a raw deal when they accept free gifts that are improperly labeled.

Consumers' first concern should be safety when they accept gifts from gas stations said a report issued by the Consumers' Foundation (消基會) yesterday It found that some bottled water giveaways by gas stations have no proper guarantee or labels.

Gas stations affiliated with the Chinese Petroleum Corp (中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑) have participated in sales promotions offering free items including bottled water, tissues and detergent to customers over the past few years.

In August, the foundation randomly checked 51 bottles of water taken from various gas stations in Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung and Hualien after receiving complaints from consumers who claimed water they had received as gifts from gas stations had a strange taste.

Although all the samples passed the health examination, the foundation found that the makers of two brands of bottled water illegally attached the GMP, or good manufacturing practice, logo on their products, while two others failed to clearly indicate expiry dates or their company address on the label.

"To protect consumers, bottled-water manufacturers should clearly label their products and legally obtain food-safety certificates," foundation secretary-general Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏) told a press conference.

The GMP food-safety logo is applied to products that meet strict quality and hygiene practices during manufacturing by the China Food GMP Development Association (中國食品良好作業規範發展協會).

"Besides water-bottlers, gas stations should also keep an eye on the gifts they are offering, because they would both be legally responsible were the products to harm consumers," Cheng warned.

Chinese Petroleum, the nation's largest oil company, said its gifts met all regulations. The company supplies 70 percent of the nation's oil products and owns 1,600 gas stations

"We require companies to provide relevant certificates and guarantees for their products, and of course, the company which tenders the lowest price wins the contract," said a Chinese Petroleum official.

Grace Huang (黃惠悅), an associate manager of National Petroleum Corp (全國加油站), said despite the fact that it tries to save money like other gas station operators, it has always been primarily concerned with the quality of its free gifts. National Petroleum operates 73 gas stations nationwide.

Still, most consumers seem to be unconcerned about the safety of the promotional products.

"I rarely look at the expiration date or to see if there is GMP logo on the water bottle, since they are free," Ian Chen (陳建文), a graduate student said. "I try to avoid drinking the water. But I do use it to wash my car."

Ethan Tsai (蔡易達), an engineer from Kaohsiung, also said he never really examines the gifts he gets from gas stations.

"I don't think the water will kill me anyway," he said.