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8/7/2019 consumer_arealking

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CONSUMERS DIGEST FEBRUARY - MARCH 2002

he Consumer is often referredto as the King. But he is an

uncrowned king.

The following are the rights of every

consumer

The Right to Safety

The Right to be informed

The Right to Choose

The Right to be heardThe Right to Redress

The Right to Consumer Eduation

The Right to a healthy environment

and

The Right to Satisfaction of basic

needsLet us now examine if the Indian

consumer has access to these

Is The Consumer

Really King

fundamental rights of every consumer,particularly the right to safety and

information.

A statement made by a senior

official of Bureau of Indian Standards

some time ago that no toilet soap of

Indian manufacture was guaranteed for

safety and quality irked the soap

industry. The BIS official was talkingof the technological transformation

from toilet soap to bathing bar.

Consumers are aware of the progress

made by our soap technologists in

elevating the status of a lowly clayey

filler to a super duper structurant that

promises to give the consumer more

for less (i.e.TFM) though not for a

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lesser price. In a rejoinder to the BIS,

the soap industry pointed out that the

synthetic surfactants used in bathing

bars are milder than soap. But there was

no protocol for determining the toxic

impurities in them. It was only after

the insistence by CGSI that the process

of drafting suitable methods was

started in BIS.

Most of the liquid soaps dispensed

in wash rooms of offices and hotels is

linear alkylbenzene sulphonate (LAS

based). The FDA has been ineffectivein checking this malpractice which

presents health risk to users.

If you take the case of medicated

or antibacterial soaps, mercuric iodide

was used in this type of soap. Topical

mercurial derivatives were withdrawn in

many countries and when CGSI came

to know of this in 1982, theyrecommended to FDA that certain

restrictions were placed on the use of

mercuric iodide in bath soap by the US

FDA and that something similar

should be done here. It was only after

persevering this for two years that CGSI

was able to make BIS ensure that use

of mercuric iodide in soaps wasdiscontinued.

In a similar situation,

hexachlorophene which was used

extensively in toilet soaps,talcum

powders and toothpaste was banned

in this country after the adverse effects

of hexachlorophene were made known

by France and USA.

The most common germicide in

use at present is trichlorocarbanilide

(TCC). TCC is not heat stable and

decomposes into toxic chloroanilines

on prolonged heating. Although this

behaviour of TCC is described in the

Indian Standard for Antibacterial Toilet

Soap published in 1985, no method

was prescribed for determining the level

of chloroanilines in the product nor

the safe limit specified. In a tropical

country like ours, halogenated

anilidescan be associated with skindisorders.

When we come to household

detergents, experts differ as regards the

damaging effect on the skin due to soda

ash in combination with the active

agent. The debate is with regard to the

relative proportion of soda to surfactant

but there is no absolute answer.Meanwhile users suffer. Detergent

residues on clothes, especially childrens

diapers, and on food utensils are of

concern.

There is a special product called baby

toilet soap sold at a hefty price

commensurate with a mothers love for

her child. The relevant Indian Standard

limits the nickel content in baby soap

to zero because of the potential of

nickel compounds to cause dermatitis.

No soap manufacturer tests his product

for nickel content a likely contaminant

through hydrogenated oils.

The consumers right to be informed is

the most dishonoured consumer right.

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Is the consumer really king


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CONSUMERS DIGEST FEBRUARY - MARCH 2002

The label which is supposed to be an

important document of information

to the consumer says a lot but tells

him nothing. A lot of scientific

mumbo-jumbo assists in promotion

of products but much of it is not

helpful tothe consumer. Surely the

consumer should know what Vit E is

and why it is particularly useful in a skinlotion of bath soap and how much of

this is contained in the product. A

deodorant soap is said to be

authenticated by the Indian Medical

Association. Is this an authorised

agency to approve consumer products?

If a deodorant soap is really medicated

then why doesnt it get categorised as a

drug? Why dont such soaps conform

to the relevant Indian Standard?

How does a buyer judge the relative

merits of various brands of washing

powders on the shop shelves which

range from Rs.20 to Rs.100 per kg? All

brands claim identical attributes.

Obviously the performance ratings

differ. The consumer is left to his or her

own wits while making a purchase

decision. Indirectly, his right to choose

is in jeopardy.

Since consumer organisations took

up this issue and urged those

responsible for laying down standards,

a cautionary note has now been inserted

into the marking clause of Indian

Standards for detergent powders and

bars in view of the skin irritant nature

of detergent solutions. Users are now

advised to avoid prolonged contact andto rinse garments and hands thoroughly.

This bit of caution is not passed

on to consumers by detergent

manufacturers. So much for infor-

mative labelling!

Speaking of informative labelling,

manufacturers are reluctant to list the

product ingredients on the pack. Thequestions they often ask are of what

use is this information to the consumer?

Will he comprehend and really benefit

from this information? Why should a

manufacturer disclose his product

formula? The marketing experts say

that such exhaustive labelling will clutter

up the copy and ruin the label design.

It must be emphasised that it is

against consumer interest to conceal

any information which is of vital

importance be it a food product,

pharmaceutical product, soap or

detergent.

Courtesy : Keemat

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