back to menuThe Guernsey Press carried this headline last summer. The accompanying leading article congratulated the Guernsey Consumer Group on taking the lead in a movement to set up a credit union on the island. The paper suggested that hundreds of Guernsey poor were paying huge interest rates on loans from local moneylenders. A credit union would therefore be a much-needed alternative source of funds.
The Group, headed by Chairman Rhoderick Matthews, has studied credit unions in the rest of the UK. There are about 450 of these, and the Government supports the concept. They provide an alternative source of borrowing with reasonable rates of interest for people who would find it hard to convince the' more usual channels to lend them money or who risk being charged unaffordable rates of interest. They discourage people from borrowing beyond their means and, perhaps even more important, they enable them to save, in fact require them to save, before they can take out a loan, and teach them ways of handling money.
Rhoderick Matthews says "the Consumer Group is very happy to help bring about the birth of a credit union, but it needs to operate as a separate entity, so we do need a separate committee". A local firm has offered premises and staff to help get the credit union going, so now the Consumer Group is looking for volunteers for a steering committee to set it all up. This is an opportunity for people to play their part in tackling relative poverty. They also need sponsorship from local firms and help and advice from banks and other financial businesses, of which there is no shortage in Guernsey. If enough support is forthcoming the Credit Union could be operating in eighteen months' time.
This may sound rather a long time but, while credit unions are covered by UK legislation, in Guernsey there may have to be specific legislation to allow them to be set up. There is pending Consumer Credit Protection legislation and this may be the right vehicle in which to incorporate the necessary powers.
It is worth remembering that in Ireland credit unions are very popular indeed and in the USA at least 25% of the population belong to one.
Any NfCG members with credit union experience are invited to contact Rhoderick Matthews on 01481 729642 or write to him at Flat 4, The Manor, Brock Rd., St. Peter Port, Guernsey. GYl 1RB.
A new Chairman for Bromley and District Consumer Group: - he is JOHN HOLLOW and his address and phone number are 3 Lynmouth Rise, Orpington, BR5 2EJ phone 01689 876907. If you live in the area and are not members of the Bromley Group then give him a ring to find out what is going on.
Edinburgh Consumer Group Members attended the second open board meeting of the Food Standards Agency, held in June at Strathclyde University. Also present was NfCG Vice President and Individual Member, Tom Miller, of Whitbread. He had been to all the Food Standards Agency meetings so far and was planning to attend the one in Belfast, "Clearly", says Dick Mackie, Edinburgh Consumer Group Chairman, "here is one company which is taking the arrival of the FoSA seriously".
Hang on a minute! What's this FoSA? A sensible idea, that's what it is. a very important body indeed, and the other is, of course, - It seems almost unbelievable that the powers that regulate such matters have allowed the creation of two FSAs. One is the Financial Services Authority a very important body indeed the other is the Food Standards Agency, an equally important body. Confusion reigns already. What Dick Mackie suggests is that the Food Standard Agency adopts the initials FoSA: This will clear up any confusion. He also suggests that the Financial Services Authority calls itself FiSA. Both are excellent ideas. How about it FSA, and FSA?
Ray Heyworth writing in the Edinburgh Group's journal 'Counter Points' reported that one of the best features of the occasion was the circulation beforehand of background papers, minutes and reports which enabled those attending to brief themselves and engage fully in the discussions. Full marks to the FoSA.
A feature of the September issue of 'Counter Points' is the inclusion of two tables, one showing all the gas tariffs for the Edinburgh area divided into monthly direct debit and quarterly credit payments and subdivided into cheaper and more expensive suppliers. The other does the same thing for the ScottishPower Area electricity suppliers.
Further on in the magazine is another table giving details of phone call charges, where BT rates are compared with Atlantic, Telewest and ntl:. A particularly welcome feature is the inclusion of a chart showing typical call costs rather than unit rates, as this allows the set up and minimum call charge factor to come into play. BT Together comes out well, in particular for local evening and week end charges.
These tables are a remarkable effort in untangling the complicated web of charges with which suppliers surround themselves and will enable members of the Group to make some real saving.
The headline refers to articles in the Spring issue of 'Consuming Interest', Aberdeen Consumer Group Magazine. They have a baker, Hanne Benson, as a new Committee Member and decided that it would be appropriate to revive interest in bread quality. They also have a learned article about the addition of water to bacon and ham, which paints an unpleasant and disturbing picture.
Group Members compared bread from supermarkets, individual bakers and the much favoured bakery at Newton Dee with a handmade, home-baked loaf. To keep testing to manageable proportions they chose samples from two national supermarket chains, one local one, and three individual bakeries which, with the home-baked loaf, made up seven loaves.
Six tasters tried sample pieces on numbered but unidentified plates. They assessed them for appearance, smell, taste and texture. Of course personal taste varies. However the results showed that there was no very great difference between any of the samples. Perhaps the tasting told more about the tasters than the bread!
There was consensus in some cases. Asda's loaf was 'liked' by five of the six tasters and was the favourite. The Newton Dee loaf was disappointing and it produced enough fat or oil to seep through the paper bag containing it to the tablecloth beneath, though nobody detected an oily taste. Perhaps it would keep better than the others. It was not clear where the home-made loaf came in order of preference.
It was perhaps not surprising that no large differences were detected. Only standard loaves were tested. A baker's individual speciality breads might be a better reflection of the capabilities of the bakery but would be difficult to compare.
A food chemist Member of the Group organised a survey of water content of ham and bacon. One is familiar with the unpleasant scum frequently found when cooking bacon these days. The food chemist suspects that this is soluble protein being wasted. The producers claim that water is added to give a better texture. But 'premium' bacon samples have no added water. Indeed some packs emphasise this with a rosette stating "NO ADDED WATER".
Cooked ham is often wet and limp and occasionally liquid is found in the pack. Premium 'on the bone' ham does not contain added water and does not exude fluid. Generally, ,high water content increases the spoilage rate, so perhaps there are health implications.
The message of the survey is 'read the label' to find out whether cooked ham or uncooked cured bacon contains water. Some samples contain 'not more than 15%' and many boast that they contain 'no added water'. In Sainsbury, 21 samples of bacon were examined. In all cases the containers were clearly marked 'no added water'. 11 varieties of cooked ham were also examined and none of these, according to the label, contained any water.
ASDA declared in all cases of ham or bacon examined, how much water had been added. Only one sample of bacon was without added water. All the rest contained between 5% and 15%. The Coop, which is usually careful about labelling, had many bacon samples in which the amount of water added was not declared, but it was the second ingredient, after bacon! Many other stores had samples in which water was the second ingredient but with no % stated. Bacon must not contain more than 15% of water, though how much does not have to be declared. However, as the second ingredient, it is not difficult to guess that the level is near to 15%, particularly when the label says "added water not over 15%".
It is a bit startling to discover that cooked ham can contain 20% water. Safeway had three varieties on offer which did, and Somerfield two, while LIDL had one with 19% water. However all eight stores visited offered ham with no added water. All the stores except Safeway and Somerfield had bacon on offer with no added water. You pays your money and takes your choice.
While looking at labels for water content the surveyors came across a curious anomaly. The labels often stated "CONTAINS NOT LESS THAN 100% MEAT" but then listed other ingredients! The producers say they can do this because they 'round up' the percentages. They should not, if they use the phrase "not less than". Try telling a mathematician that 99.5 is not less than 100! They should 'round-down', i.e. "Contains not less than 99% meat" or "Contains not less than 99.9% meat" if that is true.
The scrutineers also found "natural", "formed" or "reformed" meat cuts. What are they? The picture is not clear to the ordinary consumer. Packs can contain a genuine single joint like a Gigot or Leg, or can be a pressing of scraps and trimmings. What do burgers and sausages contain? One presumes that the Gigot or Leg joint would be "natural", the smaller scraps pressed together "formed". What about "reformed"? Perhaps created cuts such as 'bacon steaks' which appear to be a blend of pieces of meat with a piece of fat added to make it look like a real joint are "reformed".
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