Following the 2013 tainted cottonseed oil scandal in which oil was found to have been mixed with low-quality olive oil, more than 3,000 consumers filed a group lawsuit under the Consumer Protection Act (消費者保護法). A verdict has been reached, ordering edible oil manufacturer Chang Chi Foodstuff Factory Co’s (大統長基) and its chairman Kao Cheng-li (高振利) to pay NT$91.05 million (US$2.95 million) in compensation. Among the compensatory damages, NT$5.85 million covered property damages and NT$85.2 million covered non-property damages. Although the compensation was the highest to date, is it really enough to safeguard consumer justice?
In 1962, then-US president John F. Kennedy proposed a Consumer Bill of Rights — rights to protect consumers and their assets and give them the right to be informed, to choose and to be heard — in a speech to the US Congress.
Thus, the purpose of implementing a consumer protection law was to guarantee consumers’ rights. In other words, the government must establish a safe and reasonable environment for consumers. Safe products and in particular safe food should be among a government’s fundamental duties.
In reviewing the compensation amount, in addition to a lot of people participating in the group lawsuit, the endless stream of food safety scandals has caused profound popular discontent, and this is something that the judges must have noticed.
However, the Consumers’ Protection Association of Taiwan, which filed the group lawsuit on behalf of the consumers, is evaluating a possible appeal of the verdict so that consumers can receive the compensation they deserve. This shows that there is still no justice for consumers. As the food products were not safe to begin with, the compensation does not live up to consumers’ expectations.
According to the act, corporate managers are to respond to consumer disputes and handle each case properly within 15 days. This means that a group lawsuit is consumers’ “last straw” as they are rightfully fighting for punitive damages.
It must also be confirmed whether the damage caused by the company was “willful” or occurred as a result of “negligence,” because a claim for punitive damages up to three times the amount of the actual damages can be filed if the harm done was willful, while if the injuries were caused by negligence, punitive damages of up to one time the amount of the actual damages may be claimed.
However, until now, it has been impossible to obtain reasonable compensation in group lawsuits related to consumer food products because consumers have been unable to produce evidence of direct harm.
Evidence pertaining to food products causing non-asset harm mostly emphasizes bodily injuries. The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s announced ranking of food safety risk is from high to low risk: short-term perishables that pose an immediate risk; non-compliance with food safety and sanitation regulations that does not pose an immediate risk; mixed, fake or exaggerated labeling and inaccurate or incomplete labeling.
Aside from short-term perishables that pose an immediate risk, consumers have no way of providing evidence of direct harm. How can it be that only life-threatening food products bring a tripling of the amount of punitive damages? If judges considered the levels of food safety risk, the act might not be able to effectively guarantee consumer justice.
The verdict in the Chang Chi case included punitive damages, making it a new milestone in lawsuits for consumer food products. Naturally, the actions of the Consumers’ Protection Association of Taiwan are also worthy of recognition.
However, to obtain an even more beneficial verdict the association must overcome the aforementioned problems of providing evidence.
On a positive note, more consumers are willing to stand up and fight for their rights. Nevertheless, rather than consumers having to spend their time to contend with business owners, there should be strict production monitoring processes requiring businesses to provide products that cause no safety concerns to consumers’ health or assets. Do not forget that safety is a fundamental right of each and every consumer.
In the end, the public must still appeal to the government and the judiciary for verdicts on food safety lawsuits to take foreign examples into consideration. Aside from administrative sanctions, higher damages will be more effective at preventing businesses from adopting careless and wicked business practices because they think they can get away with it.
Lei Li-fen is a board member of the Consumers’ Foundation.
Translated by Zane Kheir
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