The Consumers’ Foundation yesterday called on the Department of Health (DOH) to implement stricter regulations following a number of recently aired food and cosmetic infomercials containing exaggerated claims about product performance or effects. The consumer rights watchdog recently monitored 15 infomercials on U-life, Momo and Viva channels, including 11 advertising food products and four advertising cosmetic products.
The infomercials monitored by the foundation featured a wide range of products, from oyster shell capsules that claimed to cure erectile dysfunction to foodstuffs that supposedly cure insomnia and reverse the aging process.
Consumers’ Foundation secretary-general Hwang Yu-sheng (黃鈺生) said that six of the infomercials violated the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法) by promoting the alleged medical benefits of foodstuffs, claiming products could help detoxify the body or cure arthritis and other diseases.
Six of the infomercials did not advocate medical benefits but were misleading because they exaggerated the products’ performance, such as lightening skin color or helping users to lose weight instantly, he said
The four cosmetic infomercials monitored by the foundation allegedly violated the Statute for Control of Cosmetic Hygiene (化妝品衛生管理條例) because their content was either obscene or exaggerated and were promoted via various broadcasting channels, he said.
The foundation also suspected that one of the cosmetic advertisements had failed to obtain proper licensing because it was unable to confirm the advertisement’s registration number.
“The authorities should conduct stricter inspections of product marketers and broadcasting channels to protect consumers from being misled by inappropriate advertising content,” Hwang said.
The secretary-general said that businesses try to get away with violating the law because they know the authorities do not prioritize catching violators and punishing them with heavy fines. He said that cosmetic companies face a maximum fine for inappropriate advertisements of just NT$100,000.
In effect, many businesses consider the fines the cost of doing business, so penalties fail to deter companies from breaking the law.
In response, the DOH’s Food and Drug Administration said that protection of consumers’ rights is a priority. It vowed to look into the cases and fine any violators.
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