No. 286 of Consumer Report
The Consumer Council conducted a test on beers and cocktail drinks for their contents of alcohol, calories, and sugar; test result shows that cocktail drinks generally contain more calories and sugar than beers. The Council indicates that alcohol is not good to health and remind consumers to consume alcoholic drinks sensibly.
Pay attention to the amount of alcohol and sugar in cocktail drinks
The 10 samples of beers and cocktail drinks tested in the report all contain less than 5g of alcohol in every 100ml of drinks. The test result shows that cocktail drinks generally contain more calories and sugar than beers, some samples even contain too much sugar that consumers will be taking more than the amount of daily sugar intake recommended by the World Health Organization if they consumer a whole bottle of the drinks. Most of the beers tested contain no sugar, consumers should read closely the label for all kinds of ingredients and amount, and choose according to their health condition.
The Council points out that cocktail drinks are made by mixing with juices, which may lead consumers to think they contain less alcohol, but the test result reviews that cocktail drinks and beers contain more or less than same amount of alcohol, some brands of drinks even contain more of that. The International Agency for Research on Cancer under the WHO has listed alcohol as a carcinogen, consumers are therefore advised not to consumer any alcoholic drinks if possible. Meanwhile, retail shops are reminded not to sell alcoholic drinks to underage persons.
The mentioned test report is now available in issue no. 286 of Consumer Report.
Strengthened co-operation between Macao, Zhuhai, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, and Hengqin New Area
The latest Consumer Report includes a feature on a few of the activities held between the Consumer Council and the Portuguese Economic and Food Safety Authority, as well as Gansu Consumer Association. The Council attended a joint meeting held at Zhongshan on 16 May and met with representatives of consumer organizations from Zhuhai, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, and Hengqin New Area. President of the Executive Committee of Consumer Council, Wong Hong Neng, suggested the setup of an arbitration platform among the five consumer organizations, and enhanced co-operation among consumer organizations in different cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area. Wong Hong Neng also gave an introduction on the “Certified Shops” mechanism.
The latest issue also covers a “Consumer Alert” on the sales promotion of supplements targeting at the elderly. 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.
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