THE issues raised and the examples mentioned are taken from consumer complaints over the last several months.

Shoppers must ensure that they receive bills and receipts for their purchases.  Very often, in the many East Asian stores and supermarkets which have recently sprung up countrywide, they do not give receipts for purchases, or may even ask the customer whether he/she requires a receipt. The failure of the shopper to demand receipts for purchases could result in many negatives; it could result in the shop owners evading the paying of income taxes to the Guyana Revenue Authority. The shopper has no evidence that the goods purchased belong to him/her, and if, hypothetically, the police were looking for stolen goods, the shopper would be at a disadvantage.  Finally, if the shopper were to return the goods for some defect or other reason, the seller would refuse to exchange them, since the shopper could not prove he/she bought the goods from that particular store.

Shoppers must check for the expiry dates on the goods they purchase, especially for food items and drugs.  If there is any attempt to obfuscate or change the dates, the purchaser should not buy such goods.  All edibles, including drugs, should have a date of expiry clearly written on their packages. If one uses expired drugs, such drugs may not be effective and cause the ailment to worsen.  If one uses expired food items, such items may have begun to rot and become toxic or poisonous.  For example, the use of expired canned foods, especially meats and fish, could definitely lead to food poisoning. It is a myth that if such expired edibles were to be cooked, the toxicity would disappear.

Warranties, especially on consumer durables, should be ascertained before purchase.  A warranty usually lasts for one to two years, and provides that if the item malfunctions or breaks down from normal wear-and-tear, the seller would either have to replace the item or have it satisfactorily repaired without any cost to the purchaser.  To avoid such responsibility, the seller may give a month or two warranty, since, if no warranty was given, then by Law, a six-month warranty immediately takes effect.  Many stores, especially East Asian ones, would sell such items at a slightly cheaper price to avoid the warranty.  Purchasers are advised to treat warranties as important as the price, since we have had numerous cases where purchasers bought fans, washing machines, toasters, blenders and other consumer durables which failed to work or work properly after just a month, and they lost their money, since the seller had escaped his warranty.

Foods which are polluted but are deceitfully passed as “pure”.  A good example of this is honey.  Most of the honey sold in the supermarkets, whether foreign or local, is polluted with a variety of added substances such as corn syrup, and they invariably describe themselves as “pure honey”.  Some are less polluted than others, but are more expensive.  Ideally, to obtain pure honey, one has to buy from a producer who has his own hives.  And there are other items which, though not polluted, vary in quality.
Milk is one such product.  Putting aside the few milk producers who have a few cows and sell fresh, pure milk, all milk sold in the supermarkets is either powdered or reconstituted liquid milk.  Powdered milk varies in quality, depending on the amount of protein and other essential substances extracted from them.  The lowest grade of powdered milk are those imported in bulk from countries like Ireland, in 50 or 60-pound bags, which are repacked and sold at lower prices than the better milk.

Two or three top-of-the-line brands are available in Guyana, but are more expensive than the lower-quality brands.  Purchasers are enjoined to read the milk constituents on the tins and packages and compare them.

With regard to the liquid milk sold in boxes, they are all reconstituted, and it is more economical to use top-of-the-line powdered milk.  The relief will come next year when the TOPCO dairy farm begins to put its pure milk on the market.

Aerated drinks and “juices”.  Aerated drinks are no more than sugar water flavoured with chemical flavouring; they do not do much good to health, and are deleterious to persons who may suffer from diabetes.  They provide a momentary sweet taste but nothing else.  It is far healthier and more economical to use pure bottled water.  After using water as the normal drink for a few weeks, one’s preference tends to be water rather than an aerated drink.
The so-called juices of many fruit flavours are not juices at all.  They are water, sugar, and concentrates, and, like the aerated drinks, they have little food value.

In another offering, we will consider cheeses, breads, vegetables grown organically, or with chemical fertilisers and other common foods sold in the shops and supermarkets.  However, we will enjoin consumers to read the written matter on the packaging of whatever foods and drugs they purchase to protect themselves.