back to menuIn general the economy foods sold as special lines by supermarkets are nutritionally sound and good value for money. This was the summing up by the MAFF Consumer Panel Chairman after a full discussion.
The NfCG Plymouth Consumer Group was quoted as "writing reassuringly" to the panel member initiating the original report. This drew attention to some of the economies such as the use of imported tomato purée instead of fresh tomatoes, and less apple in the apple pies (still good value for a hungry family). At Aldi they mostly sell their own specially packed foods with no choice. Aldi claim that they match the quality of other supermarkets' more expensive own brands, due to bulk purchase. Their products have fared well in the Group's consumer tests but there has been some concern about prices, which have to be memorised by the staff, and are subject to error on the final bill. This is being monitored.
"We strongly oppose the proposal [in the European Telecoms Data Protection Directive] that subscribers should pay to go ex-directory. The information belongs to the subscriber, not to the telephone company. It could be said that the real expense is in seeking to be included, rather than excluded. There should not be a cost to maintain privacy."
We must all surely agree with the National Consumer Council in its response in 1998, and we must all remain vigilant about extra charges. In a letter to a newspaper a correspondent draws attention to certain warranties on goods where you must ring the company at 8p per minute on a diagnostic call that can take from 20 to 35 minutes. At the weekend the call rate goes up to 60p per minute. Does anyone know the names of these companies?
Chairman Marie Jennings helped launch the new CORGI gas guarantee scheme which seeks to make our homes safer. Almost a third of the 4,000 gas-related complaints investigated last year were found to involve a significant gas safety defect. Too often the consumer fails to get the fault rectified, fearing the cost.
The new scheme will not only mean that for 6 years after the original installation the installer will be required to carry out any necessary remedial work at the firm's own expense, but where the installer has been removed from the CORGI list, or ceased trading, the guaranteed work will be carried out by another contractor. The customer will be responsible for registering the guarantee.
NfCG, as a Council member, was present at the CORGI Annual General Meeting. While the Guarantee Scheme was mentioned, indeed there were some criticisms that it would get in the way of other Trade schemes, the achievement which the management looked back on was the National Accredited Certification Scheme for individual gas-fitting operatives.
There are now seven Certification bodies involved, with one hundred and fourteen centres, soon to rise to two hundred. First assessments, which took place during 1998/9, showed a reassuring 94% pass rate, but setting levels of competence is pointless unless they are enforced. And enforced they are. Up to March 1999 CORGI had removed 2815 installers from the register, mostly because they could not provide Certificates of Competence. Each domestic gas fitter now has to carry a CORGI ID card and the slogan is: "Any gas installer who does not carry the card, carries a threat".
"Old orchards are host to some of the UK's wealth of old apple varieties and can be oases of wildlife in areas of intensive production." This is the good news from MAFF
Under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme owners are paid up to £250 per hectare to manage their orchards in such a way as to increase the environmental benefits. Additional payments are made for public access and for not using fertilisers and pesticides. By the end of the year there are expected to be almost a thousand orchards under the scheme which can include pear, cherry, plum and damson, or cider and perry orchards. Perhaps now is the time to reconsider allowing the sale of apples too small to meet present regulations.
A recent press report suggests that during the next 50 years retirement age will rise by five-yearly steps to 75 or even 80 years of age. Will medical science really proceed at such a rate? Will our bodies and brains remain active that much longer?
According to The Times City Diary: "Bismarck, when restructuring German society at the end of the last century, asked his experts how long the average person at that time could expect to live. They came up with 66 years. So he said, right, we will make the retirement age 65 because that gives everybody about a year to sort their affairs out."
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