Consume with Care !!

[Payel Chakraborty]

 It was Pepsi 8 years ago and now it’s Maggi, both popular brands in controversy. So who is to blame? The manufacturer for not being wholly transparent or the consumer for not taking interest to know what he is consuming. In a way both, I would say. As consumers, we are blindly purchasing many products based on price and sensory perceptions. We hardly take a little time and effort to know what is getting into our digestive system or what we apply to our body. People do a lot of product research on cars, TVs, mobiles, jewelry and so on, but never on the most essential items that affect our daily lives- food and personal care. If we look at the adverse impacts that these can have on our health, if not chosen properly, it is appalling. On an average each one of us come in contact with about 30- 40 chemicals a day by use of soap, detergents, toothpaste, shampoos etc. An almost equal number of chemical based or synthetic ingredients could be ingested by us through fast foods, processed foods, soft drinks, colored fruits etc.

                                                So why are we becoming vulnerable to such potentially toxic stuff that can harm our health and well-being? I think its lack of proper information and our own callousness. But how do I get information that is genuine and easy to understand (often the declared information on product packaging is difficult to understand and sometimes too small to read that people simply rely on the brand name)? With internet on hand, this job is easier than before. One can go to government sites like Food Safety Authority of India, APEDA, Agmark and HACCP. But there are hardly any noteworthy sites that give product specific information to consumers that enable them to make informed purchases. Ecochoice provides such information and tries to put up products after some amount of due diligence. So Consume with Care!