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Foundation investigates bad labeling

The Consumers' Foundation yesterday holds a press conference asking makers of of beverages to specify the drinks' contents on their labels. PHOTO: CHU PEI-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES

The Consumers' Foundation yesterday announced the results of a nationwide inspection of various brands of beverages and juices whose printed labels contained false or unclear information.

During a consumers' organization exchange program in Japan, foundation officials were able to purchase and examine the labels on beverages sold there.

Some brands like Fanta and Suntory are sold both in Taiwan and Japan, allowing comparisons.

According to foundation secretary-general Terry Huang (黃怡騰), the Fanta orange soda sold in Japan had the words "this beverage contains no juice" clearly printed on the can, while the Fanta sold in Taiwan had no indication of whether juice was included or not.

"Fanta is an international brand," Huang said. "Why is it that in Japan, the can is clearly labeled but not in Taiwan? Consumers are being cheated here."

On another well-known beverage, Lemon C, originally made by Japanese company Suntory but manufactured here by Vedan (味丹), the words printed on the bottle were clearly different from the original.

On the Japanese bottle, the words "70 lemons worth of Vitamin C in every bottle" were clearly printed, while the Taiwanese bottle merely said "Recommended daily value of Vitamin C in every bottle."

"The Japanese Lemon C contains the Vitamin C of seventy lemons. Nobody can actually consume 70 lemons a day, an indication of the high amount of Vitamin C in the Japanese version, yet in Taiwan, it only contains the `recommended daily value,' which is definitely less than 70 lemons," Huang said.

According to the foundation's calculations, the Japanese Lemon C contained 16.8 times the Vitamin C of that in Taiwan.

"What's worse is that the Taiwanese Lemon C actually contains 600ml instead of the 500ml sold in Japan," Huang said. "It means that our companies are watering down the beverage."

The Consumers' Foundation was not trying to denounce these companies for making artificial juice drinks instead of using pure juice, but hoped that companies would be honest when labeling their products, Huang said.

"There is nothing wrong with concentrated or diluted juice. We just want clear and honest labels," Huang said.

The information on labels must be clear and easily understood by the public, said Wu Chia-cheng (吳家誠), a foundation member.

"Often companies use fancy English or technical terms for preservatives and additives, which nobody understands," Wu said. "The public has the right to know what they are drinking."
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