Consumer Report
A report on testing the hygienic condition and sugar contents of beverages with short shelf life is published in Consumer Council’s latest issue no. 279 Consumer Report. The sixty tested beverage samples all pass the hygienic standard of IACM’s guideline, however, about sixty percent of them contain high amount of sugar. The Council suggests consumers to choose beverages marked less sweet, or those without sugar, to avoid over intake of sugar that may affect human’s health. Hygienic condition of sixty samples are good Pre-packed or freshly made beverages both contain short shelf life and do not require re-heating, Consumer Council and IACM tested the effects of this kind of beverages on consumers’ health. The sixty samples tested include herbal tea, fresh juice, and Taiwanese style drinks, etc., national standards were quoted in the test. All samples tested pass the hygienic standard of IACM’s guideline, salmonella and Staphylococcus Aureus are not found in any of them. High sugar contents in most samples Although sugar is a necessary kind of energy to human’s body, too much sugar costs diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, the World Health Organization strongly suggests an intake of less than 50g of sugar, which equals to ten cubes of sugar, for adults with a 2000-calorie daily intake. In 2015, the WHO further suggested to reduce the intake of sugar to 25g if possible. The test result shows that over sixty percent of the beverage samples contain more than the two suggested amount of sugar, consumers will be taking more than the suggested amount when consuming one whole bottle or cup of this kind of drinks. Pay attention to too much intake of sugar The Council suggests consumers to consume less drinks with sugar, or choose those with less sugar or no sugar to avoid too much intake of sugar that may affect human’s health. Meanwhile, consumers are advised to purchase beverages with short shelf life from renowned businesses that pay attention to the hygienic condition of their food containers. The test results can be found in the latest issue of Consumer Report. Other contents include enhancing consumers’ safety knowledge The current issue of Consumer Report also includes a consumer alert of China Food and Drug Administration regarding the produce of fruit jam and beer, as well as an article introducing worldwide different safety standards of car seats. Consumer Report is now available free of charge at the Council (Av. Horta e Costa, N.º 26, Edf. Clementina Ho), and the service counter of the Council at Macao SAR Government Service Centre (Rua Nova da Areia Preta, Nº52), Public Information Centre at Vicky Plaza, libraries, and bookstores. Consumers may also access the magazine online on the Council’s official website (http://www.consumer.gov.mo) and WeChat official account. For enquiry, please call 8988-9315.