Consumer Information and participation interactive Communication with Consumers on Food Safety and Q

1
Consumer Information and participation
interactive Communication with Consumers on Food
Safety and Quality.

• Marija Zeltina
• Member of Latvian National Consumer Right
  Protection Association Consil
• Bulgaria, Plovdiv
• April 11-12, 2005.

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Contain

• About Latvian National Consumer Right Protection
  association and NGO possibilities
• Analysis of survey concerning cooking oils.

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About Latvia Consumer Right protection
association.

• During the development of market economy in
  Latvia a new non-governmental movement -
  consumers' rights protection - has appeared.
  Consumer Clubs and Societies from all over Latvia
  united to form the Latvian National Association
  for Consumer Protection (PIAA). The founder
  members are regional consumer clubs from towns -
  Riga, Jurmala, Rezekne, Latgale region, Jelgava
  and Ogre, and tenants associations from Liepaja.
  The Association is an independent
  non-governmental umbrella-organization, which
  works nationally to extend and protect consumer
  rights in Latvia, as well as to co-ordinate the
  work of local and regional groups.
• Latvian National Association for Consumer
  Protection is a big step forward to development
  of non-governmental consumer protection
  organizations and consumers' protection movement
  in Latvia, becoming most important representative
  of consumers interest of the country on a
  national and international level.
• The foundation of the Association was made
  possible by strong influence from European
  consumer organizations and a one-year grant from
  the Nordic Council within a project "The Support
  for Establishment of a National Level
  Non-governmental Consumer Protection organization
  in Latvia".
• After the foundation of the national Association
  in 1999, new regional organizations were
  established, so that today PIAA consists of 11
  regional organizations - ten consumer protection
  clubs and one tenants' association

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• Club for Protection of Consumer Interests
• Consumer Protection Club "PIKS"
• Consumer Protection Club of Jelgava
• Consumer Protection Club of Rezekne
• Latgale Region Consumer Protection Centre
• Consumer Rights Protection Club of Daugavpils
• Cesis District Consumer Protection Club
  "Aizstavis"
• Consumer Rights Protection Organization of Ogre
• Tenants Association of Liepaja
• Consumer Protection Centre "Preili"
• Consumer Protection Club of Gulbene

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The growing regional network is a result of the
insight, shared by the majority of regional and
local clubs, that joining the forces in a
national association is the best way for small
regional groups to influence the consumer policy
of the country and to develop modern instruments
of consumer information, advice and
education.Members of Associations are a strong
and enthusiastic team, united in order to
purposefully plan and co-ordinate consumers'
protection network in Latvia.PIAA member
organizations are independent legal entities that
are operating as complaints-handling and
campaigning agencies, carrying out small
investigative studies, representing consumers on
consultative bodies and working with the
government institutions on legislation, and
education and information programs. There is much
goodwill and practical co-operation between the
government sector and the voluntary
organizations.

• The growing regional network is a result of the
  insight, shared by the majority of regional and
  local clubs, that joining the forces in a
  national association is the best way for small
  regional groups to influence the consumer policy
  of the country and to develop modern instruments
  of consumer information, advice and
  education.Members of Associations are a strong
  and enthusiastic team, united in order to
  purposefully plan and co-ordinate consumers'
  protection network in Latvia.PIAA member
  organizations are independent legal entities that
  are operating as complaints-handling and
  campaigning agencies, carrying out small
  investigative studies, representing consumers on
  consultative bodies and working with the
  government institutions on legislation, and
  education and information programs. There is much
  goodwill and practical co-operation between the
  government sector and the voluntary
  organizations.

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PIAA and its member organizations dealt
with 5132 consumer complaints in Year, majority
of which referred to consumer law (41.1), rent
and utilities (20.5), various services (14.2),
various goods (8.8), electrical appliances
(4.9), footwear (3.9), food (3.6) and other
products/services.Members of Association
represent consumers in several committees and
councils nationally in Food Council, Energy
Consumers Committee, Standardisation Committee,
local municipalities, etc., and internationally
in European Consumer Consultative Group in
Brussels (Mrs. Silvia Viksnina) and European
Consumer Voice in Standardisation ANEC (Mrs.
Lilia Stelpe)Since 2004 Association is a member
of European Consumer Organisation BEUC.PIAA has
set itself the following broad goals
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• to co-ordinate the work of non-government
  organizations working for the consumer in Latvia
• to educate consumers about their rights and
  obligations in buying goods, using services and
  protecting the environment
• to ensure that consumers have the information
  they need to make rational choices
• to protect the economic interest of consumers
• to protect consumers from damage or danger to
  health, property or life
• to become actively involved in reviewing consumer
  complaints, mechanisms for resolving them, and
  proposals for improving means of redress
• to publicize instances of unsafe or fake products
  and of deceptive selling practices.

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• Association informs society about consumer
  protection on different mass media. Association
  provides legal advice to consumers in case their
  rights have been violated.
• One step in the direction of professional support
  for consumer advice activities is the consumer
  self-information system, which has been
  elaborated with the technical support of AgV
  under the PHARE programme and placed in all
  regional advice offices of PIAA in September
  2000. It consists of 7 information files for the
  direct use by consumers, covering consumer
  rights, public utilities, footwear, textiles,
  cosmetics, tourism, fruit and vegetables. The
  Estonian experiences and Estonian expertise have
  been used in the process of elaboration of the
  Latvian information system.
• Association regularly organizes educational
  seminars for representatives of regional
  consumers' protection clubs, thus developing
  capacity of regional consumer advice-giving
  services. In 2003 Association's member
  organizations attended DG SANCO workshop
  "Enforcement of Consumer Protection" in Helsinki
  in 2004 - BEUC Training Courses and 7th Annual
  Assembly of Consumer Associations in Brussels.
• Our difficulties and pluses.

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A Study of Food OilsAnalysis of survey
resultsLatvijas FaktiOctober 2004

• CONTENTS
• I. Technical information
• II. The main conclusions
• III. Analysis of survey results

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Technical information about the
surveyThe respondents On the basis of a
process of random stratification, the survey team
selected 1,000 permanent residents of Latvia who
were between 15 and 74 years old. The
stratification was based onA) Geographic
considerationsB) National considerationsThe
cohort was selected on the basis of the latest
statistical data about the Latvian population.

• .

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The method The survey was conducted
through the method of direct (face-to-face)
interviews at the place of residence of each
respondent. The places of residence of
respondents were selected on the basis of random
routes. Respondents were selected with the help
of the Kish method. Interviews were conducted by
62 interviewers from Latvijas Fakti. The
instructions which interviewers issued and the
quality of their work were examined by five
regional supervisors in the Latvijas Fakti
network of interviewers. Interviews were
conducted in Latvian and Russian.
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The schedule All of the interviews
took place between October 18 and October 25,
2004. The method The survey was conducted
through the method of direct (face-to-face)
interviews at the place of residence of each
respondent. The places of residence of
respondents were selected on the basis of random
routes. Respondents were selected with the help
of the Kish method. Interviews were conducted by
62 interviewers from Latvijas Fakti. The
instructions which interviewers issued and the
quality of their work were examined by five
regional supervisors in the Latvijas Fakti
network of interviewers. Interviews were
conducted in Latvian and Russian.The schedule
All of the interviews took place between October
18 and October 25, 2004.
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The main conclusions Nearly
two-thirds (65.6) of survey respondents said
that when they purchase cooking oil, it is
important for them to know whether genetically
modified materials have been used in the
production of the oil. A total of 36.7 of
respondents said that this information is very
important, while 28.9 of respondents said that
it is fairly important. A bite more than
one-quarter (26.4) of respondents said that
information about whether genetically modified
materials are used in the production of oil is
fairly or completely unimportant.
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The view that this information is
important in the selection of cooking oils was
stated more frequently by respondents with a
higher education, by respondents in the 25-64 age
group, by respondents whose financial situation
is better than average, by women, by respondents
who are responsible in their families for
everyday shopping, and by respondents with
children aged 15 or younger. The group in the
cohort which was least likely to say that
information about whether genetically modified
materials have been used in the production of oil
is of importance was the youngest group (those
aged 25 or younger).
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A dominant majority (76.9) of
respondents said that they had never seen labels
on food oils which indicate that this product
has been produced from genetically modified
materials. Only 11.5 of respondents had ever
noticed labels with this kind of
information.Asked whether they would choose oils
that are or oils that are not produced with
genetically modified resources, the majority
(67.5) of respondents said that they would
choose oils that do not contain such resources.
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Nearly all of these respondents (82.6,
or 55.7 of all respondents) would choose the
aforementioned option even if the oil without
genetically such resources. Only 5.2 of
respondents would select an oil which does
include genetically modified resources.When
asked to name the kinds of agricultural products
from which oil that is known as plant oil is
produced, respondents mentioned sunflowers
(51.6), rapeseed (41.9), mixtures of various
products (31.3), olives (22.8) and soybeans
(17.5). Fewer than 10 of respondents mentioned
other products.
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III. Analysis of survey results Question
When you buy cooking oil, how important is it
for you to know if it includes genetically
modified materials?