A movement led by the Consumers’ Foundation to file a class--action suit on behalf of consumers against companies responsible for the food scare in May will commence next week, the foundation said yesterday.
The food scare was sparked by the discovery of the illegal use of plasticizers in additives supplied to food and beverage manufacturers.
Consumers’ Foundation chairperson Joann Su (蘇錦霞) said the foundation, together with the Cabinet’s Consumer Protection Commission (CPC), has processed and settled about 2,000 complaints.
However, most dealers and consumers have yet to reach a consensus, and more than half of the cases, numbering in the thousands, remain unsettled, she said.
The foundation said it was preparing to gather volunteer lawyers to help consumers take the group complaint to court, adding that details on how to apply to join the group lawsuit would be announced next week.
The cost of the entire legal proceeding is estimated at about NT$6 million (US$201,000), and funding for the trial will come in part from fund-raising, Su said.
She added that the foundation would try to solicit support from the Cabinet’s secondary reserve funds.
Su also called on the government to amend third-party insurance regulations and approve the legislation for the Consumers’ Protection Foundation Fund as soon as possible to better protect consumers’ rights.
She said that under current regulations for third-party insurance, consumers can only collect payment if they have suffered actual losses or provide evidence of actual loss.
Neither do these regulations provide guarantees for returning or exchanging merchandise, she said.
As such, third-party insurance has not helped consumers affected by the plasticizer incident, Su said, urging the government to amend the law to safeguard consumers’ rights.
Following the plasticizer scare in May, the foundation began a two-month survey in July to gauge consumers’ views on the whole incident.
The survey, which collected 2,142 samples, showed that although consumers are now more aware of what to look out for during purchases, 55 percent of respondents have lost confidence in the nation’s food security, despite the government’s emergency measures to deal with the issue.
Only 5 percent of respondents expressed confidence in local food security measures, the survey showed.
More than half of respondents also said that consumers’ rights were not upheld and compensation was lacking during the incident, the poll showed.
As to the foodstuff dealers’ attitude, 66 percent of respondents said they could not accept the dealers’ comment that they were also victims in the case.
A total of 61 percent said they had lost faith in the dealers, with only 3 percent saying that the incident had not affected their confidence in dealers, the poll said.
Asked whether it would be reasonable for dealers to provide a considerable sum to establish a compensation fund for consumers, 69 percent of respondent agreed it was reasonable, the poll showed.
The survey also showed that 69 percent of respondents had become more suspicious about food safety after the incident; 65 percent said they thought the “brand name” and “type” of products being sold have a great impact on their choices of which to buy, the survey said.
Translated by Jake Chung, Staff writer
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS