Tue, Sep 23, 2008 page8

• Things that can be done to protect consumers

  • Lee Shen-Yi 李伸一
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  King Car Industrial Co, a reputable company in the food business, chose to purchase ingredients for its powdered instant beverages and soups from Duqing Inc in China’s Shandong Province as a means of diversifying sourcing and ensuring a constant supply of raw materials in the face of rising prices and commodity shortages.

  When news came out about contaminated milk powder from China, King Car asked Duqing if melamine — an industrial chemical used to make plastics and fertilizers — was present in any of its products.

  Duqing gave its word that there was none. Nevertheless, in the interests of consumer health and safety and acting on its own initiative, King Car sent samples of all its products to the Food Industry Research and Development Institute for testing.

  The firm’s powdered instant beverages tested positive for melamine.

  As soon as King Car received the results, the firm took a number of steps to resolve the issue.

  It informed the Department of Health, recalled affected products, checked its remaining stock of possibly tainted items and kept them under lock and key.

  The company also set up a hotline to deal with consumer inquiries and complaints and announced its willingness to accept responsibility for and pay compensation to any consumers who had suffered ill effects.

  In contrast, at least until Thursday last week, Duqing covered up the facts by sending King Car a written guarantee that its products did not contain melamine.

  There is a stark contrast between these two companies — one Taiwanese and the other Chinese — in their attitude to consumer protection and their willingness, or reluctance, to accept corporate responsibility for their actions.

  I have a few suggestions on how to deal with this case and companies that behave like this.

  We should encourage companies to take the initiative to send suspicious product samples for testing, and recall all products and take remedial measures whenever contamination is found.

  At the same time, we should condemn companies that ignore the safety of customers and cover up the facts. In such cases, the Department of Health should promptly inform the World Health Organization, while consumers’ groups should report such incidents to the global consumer protection body Consumers International.

  Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) should immediately protest to Beijing through existing channels of communication.

  Second, the government should test all processed and unprocessed foodstuffs imported from China to safeguard consumer health.

  In the spirit of corporate accountability, importers should test samples of their products or send them to qualified laboratories for testing before placing them on the market.

  The SEF and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait should negotiate terms for testing foodstuffs traded in both directions and establish a procedure of mutual notification.

  Duqing hid the truth and had no regard for the health of its customers. It knew that its products were contaminated with melamine but issued a document guaranteeing that they were melamine-free. This constitutes a criminal act.

  Importers should file suit for compensation, because crimes like these should not be tolerated.

  Lee Shen-yi is honorary chairman of the Consumers’ Foundation.

  TRANSLATED BY JULIAN CLEGG AND EDDY CHANG
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