Vol. XI, Issue III March 2010 Rs 50

03/2010

Visit us at: www.consumer-voice.org

Standing Loss (kWH/24 hr)

0.753*EER (w/w)

Appliance/Type :

Brand :

Mode/Year :

Capacity :

Power :

*Under test conditions, when tested in accordance with XXX.

Actual electricity consumption will depend on how the appliance is being used.

Geyser

YYYY

ABC/2007

XX

XX

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

3.11*EER (w/w)

Appliance/Type :

Brand :

Model/Year :

Cooling Capacity (W) :

Power Consumption (W) :

*Under test conditions, when tested in accordance with XXX.

Actual electricity consumption will depend on how the appliance is being used.

XX/Window

YYYY

ABC/2007

XX

XX

Variable Speed Compressor : Yes/No

Heat Pump : Yes/No

ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION

580*UNITS PER YEAR

*Under test conditions, when tested in accordance with XXX.

Actual electricity consumption will depend on how the appliance is being used.

Appliance/Type :

Brand :

Model :

Type :

Gross volume :

Refrigerator

ABC

XYZ 270/2007

Frost Free

270 liters

Storage volume : 260 liters

165*

BEE

BEE

March 2010

Consumer voice

Contents

Microwaves: Ovens or Hot Cases

COMPARATIVE TEST

PAGE 06

Editor: Roopa Vajpeyi

Chief EditorProf PK Ghosh

Mg. EditorProf Sri ram Khanna

COOashim Sanyal

OnlineManjari KhareSapna Saini

EditORialamrita DalelaKeertana Sharmaarun Sagar archana Kumari

tEChniCalh WadhwaKc choudharyMohd. azim KhanSheeba Parveen

aCCOUntSMonender SinghSanjay Kumar

lEgalhK awasthiDeepa Monappan

ManagER-BRaillEDipendra Manocha

MaRkEtingPranay Shethramanjeet Kaurashu BhagatDinesh Kumarashutosh Massey

Printed and Published by: Dr. K.L. Madhok for Voice Society, 441 (Basement), Jungpura, Mathura road, New Delhi-110014Ph.: 011-24379078-80 Telefax: 24379081e-mail: editorial@consumer-voice.org editor.online@consumer-voice.org

Printed at Pearl Printers, B-186, okhla industrial area Phase i, New Delhi-110020

For Gifts & Subscription-related enquiries, contact:subscription@consumer-voice.orgFor legal queries: legal@consumer-voice.org

Editors note: Consumer VOICE does not accept any corporate advertisements or advertorials for the magazine. This has been the magazines policy since the first issue was published in 1997 and it keeps our reportage unbiased and non-partisan. Consumer VOICE regularly publishes laboratory results of product tests. These products are purchased from the retail market before being sent to an independent NABL-accredited laboratory for testing.The views expressed in the magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the organisation, rather they are to be

deemed as personal opinion of the author(s) concerned. consumer-voice.org all rights reserved. No article, story, test report can be reproduced from this magazine, without a written permission from the editor. Material, test report, data from consumer Voice cannot be used for any marketing or promotional purposes.all disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts in Delhi/New Delhi only.Libel insurance: The consumer Voice libel insurance policy extends to include typesetters, printers, distributors, co-publishers, and newspaper advertisements by Voice.

For subscription inquiries contact: 011-46103267/71

Antibacterial SoapNo Protection

USER TEST

PAGE 15

Oil Tradition now in Shampoo!

PRODUCT REVIEW

PAGE 22

World Consumer Rights Day Special Report

REPORT

PAGE 24 READERS PAGE PAGE 40

comparative test of 11 brands of Microwave ovens brings the intelligent buys out

8 brands of Liquid handwashes were user tested to identify the Best buys for our consumers

Product review of Garnier Fructis, Fortify-ing shampoo 2-in-1: effective or Not

Creamy DelicaciesCOMPARATIVE TEST

PAGE 11

comparative test of 9 brands of ice creams & 2 desserts brings you a comprehensive report.

Direct to Rural Homes

REPORT

PAGE 26

exploring new dimensions

Wool: All you wanted to know!

REPORT

PAGE 29

Beware of GM food

Bt Brinjal: Temporary Relief

HEALTH

PAGE 19

Womanly Confusion

HEALTH

PAGE 32

Sift Fact from Fiction

Cost and Innovation: The Fig Leaf Argument

PAGE 34

FINANCE

indian experiences with regulators

LEGAL FILE PAGE 37

editor's mailbox

Consumer voice

Mar

ch 2

010

Bank Chargesi have the following queries:1. Schedule Bank (icici/hDFc etc) are charging heavy bank charges towards their customer such as Quarterly average balance rs. 750/- cheque return rs.350/- plus Service tax. are these charges reasonable?2. Sweet seller sell their sweets @ rs.300/400 per kg and they pack 1 kg sweets in containers, which cost between rs. 5 to 7 rs. and weigh around 40 to 50 gms. Sellers weigh these along with the sweets, which means inflated charges for the consumer. is this justified? Raj Prakash guptadistt. gautam Budh nagar (U.P.)

My Pressure cooker experiencei read the consumer Voice test report on Pressure cookers and wish to share my own experience: if you go through the Prestige and hawkins cookers, you will notice that there is a design fault in the Prestige cooker. in case of hawkins, pressure will not foam unless it is properly locked whereas in the case of Prestige, pressure will build up even it is half locked. hawkins cooker will not work if it is half locked. in my case, the cover of my Prestige pressure cooker was half locked by mistake. after a few minutes of putting it on fire, due to high pressure lock slipped back and lid came out and the cooker exploded.Since the Prestige cooker is an iSi marked product, i wrote to them that the design is faulty but before making further correspondence, manufacturers representative visited my house and they replaced the cooker with brand new cooker with accessories with a request not to follow the case further. it appears that the manufacturer knows this problem.kurian

Don't Mess With NatureEditor responds

Dear Mr. Kurian,Thank you for sharing your experience with us and our readers.i consulted our technical expert about it and we feel that your mail actually contains all the lessons one needs to learn from your experience. First is, that it is always mandatory for consum-ers to follow instructions for safe use, while using any product. in your case the pressure cooker was not properly locked and the accident occurred. at our end we are recommending to the Bureau of indian Standards that they make it mandatory for all manufacturers to incorporate safety latches into the cooker designs so that consumers are not at risk, if they forget to lock the cooker lid securely. it has been our experience that consumers complain to us and to the manufacturers but then do not wait for the issue to be resolved all the way through and accept individual set-tlement offered by the manufacturer. This works for individual consumers but does not help the issue to get resolved. it is we feel part of consumer responsibility to help get the com-plaint addressed, so that manufacturers improve the product and consumer safety is assured. We are here to support valid consumer complaints and take it up with involved stakeholders on behalf of consumers.

Editor respondsDear Mr. Gupta,it is our constant endeavour to educate consumers about their rights and responsibilities, and we have learnt that it is a two way process. it is as important for consumers to know their rights as it is to be alert about their responsibilities. i consulted our legal desk to address your queries and this is what they came up with:in response to the 1st query, as per rBi Guidelines, the banks have been given discretion to fix their charges according to the quality of service given to customer, and there is nothing that you or i could do in regard to this.Query 2- as per rule 11 of the Standards of Weights and Measures (Packaged commodity) rules 1977 in declaring the net quantity of the commodity contained in a package, the weight of wrappers and materials other than the commodity shall be excluded, hence it is for the consumer to insist that the shopkeeper should weigh the sweets box separately before weighing sweets. Therefore it is clear that here consumer action is required and many a times it is for us as consumers to see that the market follows the rules set for it, just as it is for consumers to follow the rules that are meant for them.

to see more logon to: www.consumer-voice.org

March 2010

Consumer voice

The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing which stands in the way... William Blake

I travel along certain routes, everyday, on my way to office. I am familiar with trees that

line the streets and their flowering and fruiting seasons and the birds that nest on electric poles or the stray moth or butterfly that hovers, even at peak traffic time during spring, on the Gulmohar or the Amaltaas. Over the years all of us have been witness to mass butchering of trees, vanishing fields and disappearing cattle, but the one that turned my stomach last week, was the spectacle of an avenue of mutilated and murdered Neem trees, with a girth of at least 6 to 8 feet. They lay decimated while people were busy chopping and

cutting, tying and bundling the wood. The wealth of green Neem leaves lay squandered on the road, where the rushing roadside traffic crushed them.

Ecological Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, tells the story of Sher, a tiny village in Tibet, which has survived for a thousand years. It is true sustainability, when a village can survive that long in its ecosystem, despite its precarious location on a narrow shelf along a steep mountainside. This village gets just three inches of precipitation a year, of which, every drop is gathered into a traditional irrigation system. Annual temperatures average near freezing and in winter the mercury can dip further. Locally spun and woven wool from the local sheeps extra-thick coat makes clothes and blankets that help villagers get through the excruciatingly cold winters.

The stone-and-wattle houses need to be repaired, and willow trees planted along the irrigation canals provide the roofing. Whenever a branch is cut for roofing, a new one is grafted to the tree. A willow tree lasts around four hundred years, and when one dies a new one is planted. Human waste is recycled as fertilizer for herbs, vegetables, and fields of barley or the local staple, tsampa. Root vegetables are stored for the winter, as in many hilly regions of India.

Goleman thinks of the brand of wisdom that has kept that tiny Himalayan village alive for these centuries as ecological intelligence, Ecological intelligence lets us apply what we learn about how human activity impinges on ecosystems so as to do less harm and to live sustainably in our niche these days the entire planet.

Modern life diminishes such skills and wisdom. The routines of our daily lives are completely disconnected from their adverse impacts on the world around us. Yet at the same time the global reach of industry and commerce means that the impacts of how we shop and live extend to the far corners of the planet. Consumption today, destroys natural resources at a rate that far exceeds our planets carrying capacity.

The threats surrounding us demand that we hone a new sensibility and the capacity to recognize the hidden web of connections between human activity and natures systems. This awakening must result in a collective eye opening, a shift in our most basic assumptions and perceptions, one that will drive changes in commerce and industry as well as in our individual actions and behaviours.

The Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner reinvented the way we think about IQ by identifying several other varieties of intelligence besides the ones that help us to survive in a competitive world. These other intelligences allow us to collectively adapt to the challenges we face as a species.

Modern technologies and our dependence on a world supported by them have blunted our survival skills and destroyed the networks of dependence, created through generations of local wisdom that lets native peoples find ways to live in harmony with their part of the planet. Collaboration and the exchange of information are vital to amassing the essential ecological insights and necessary database that may allow us to act for the greater good.

When it comes to our collective ecological goals, the rules, according to Goleman might boil down to:Knowing your impacts, favouring improvements and sharing what you learn.Ecological intelligence today must translate to an awareness of the true consequences of what we do and

buy, and then help all of us make conscientiously balanced choices, and to share what we learn. The shared nature of ecological intelligence makes it synergistic with social intelligence, which gives us the

capacity to coordinate and harmonize our efforts. We have to acquire a new sensitivity to an unfamiliar range of threats and learn what to do about them. Thats where ecological intelligence enters the picture.

If each of us follows those three simple rules, then together we might create a force that improves the future for all humanity. Signs of this shift in collective consciousness are amply visible in the global efforts towards exploring how to evolve sustainable approaches to consumption.

(Roopa Vajpeyi)Editor

editorial

Mar

ch 2

010

Consumer voice

Ovens or Hot casesMicrowaves

Microwave ovens are now in-creasingly being used by the masses. The demand for microwave ovens has been increasing day by day. These are available in different sizes starting from 11 liters, but the most commonly sold microwaves ranges from 2030 liters capacity.

Microwaves not only cook or heat food, they can be also used for various purposes. Keeping all those requirements in mind, Consumer VOICE tested 11 brands of the mi-crowave ovens of convection type. This is the first time ever you can see a microwave test in India.

Consumers will be surprised to know that Indian brands beat the imported brands in the test!

In the overall quality, perform-ance and safety tests, Kenstar, Videocon and Panasonic topped. Panasonic was expensive among all the brands tested but is still a good buy.

Safety Issues: All the brands passed in radiation leakage test since no significant amount of Mi-crowave leakage was observed. Kenstar, Videocon, Panasonic, Onida, Electrolux, Godrej, Whirl-pool and Samsung were the saf-est among all, thus consumer can rely upon their usage for years.

Brand & Model of indian/MnC Brands Overall Score, % Microwave Ovens & Ranks

1. KeNSTar oM 25Dce indian 81.32

2. ViDeocoN ec2275S indian 81.23

3. PaNaSoNic NN-c 784 MF MNc 81.03

4. SaMSUNG ce 1031L MNc 78.85

5. oNiDa Power convection 25 XL indian 78.70

6. eLecTroLUX eM25ec85 SL MNc 77.85

7. GoDreJ GMc e 09 MrGX indian 77.47

8. LG Mc 7688 DP MNc 77.03

9. WhirLPooL Magicook 25c MNc 76.67

10. iFB 25 Sc2 MNc 76.48

11. haier hr 25ec MNc 75.15

Comparative Test

Today no urban kitchen is considered complete without a microwave oven. a convenient gadget to heat or re-heat food in a hurry or make instant snacks like popcorn etc. Working urban women find microwave ovens very handy. however, microwaves can cause safety concerns like sparking, short-circuits etc. health concerns like radiation leakage also nag consumer minds. our test of 11 brands of microwave ovens brings you a complete report.

March 2010

Consumer voice

Capacity v/s Usable Cavity Volume: The gross volume for which the microwave ovens are rated is not the volume that can be utilized for any of the functions of the microwave oven. It is the us-able volume that is useful for con-sumers; which is atleast 37% less than the rated volume. Larger the disc/rotating disc area, higher the usable volume of a microwave oven. Electrolux has the largest usable volume (63.8%) followed by Panasonic (63.5%), LG (63.0%) and Samsung (61.25%), as com-pared to others. Brands Haier, Go-drej, IFB and Onida had the low-est usable cavity volume. Brands tested declared their overall capaci-ties were almost same, but usable cavity volumes were not declared by any of the brands.

Performance Tests VOICE conducted various per-

formance tests namely cooking (Egg Custard, Cakes and Minuted Meat), Uniform Heating and De-frosting primarily. The tests re-vealed that brands Kenstar, and Videocon were the top perform-ers. IFB and Onida were the low-est performers amongst the brands tested.

Cooking PerformancesEgg Custard Test: To evaluate

the cooking uniformity of a large rectangular piece of food, with moderate thickness, egg custard was chosen to carry out the test.

No significant microwave leakage found, thus all are safe.

Usable cavity volume of the actual volume consumer gets to use microwave ovens as compared to gross volume.

Microwaves are the most efficient kitchen appliance in terms of time and power consumption as per the gas consumption.

Brand Kenstar is cheapest amongst all brands tested and is the intelligent buy in terms of overall performance followed by Videocon.

KEy Findings

LG performed well in this param-eter followed by Haier, Godrej kenstar and Videocon. IFB and Panasonic were lower performers.

Cake: To evaluate heating (baking) uniformity of a cylindri-cal, thick, expanding food a Cake was cooked in the microwave ov-ens as per method provided in In-dian standard. Godrej performed well in this parameter followed by Kenstar and LG. Whirlpool, Sam-sung, and 'Haier' were mediocre performers.

Minuted Mutton: The test was conducted to evaluate cooking uniformity of thick minuted mut-ton. In this test, brand Electrolux performed the best, followed by Samsung Godrej and 'Panasonic'. IFB and Kenstar were the lower performers.

Defrosting: Test was con-ducted to evaluate the uniformity of defrosting of a thick food item (minced meat). Brands LG, Pana-sonic, Onida and Electrolux per-formed quite well respectively.

Uniform Heating Test: The equal distribution of EM (electric magnetic) wave was used to heat the liquid, having 25 small cubicles of a tank, to judge whether the temperature difference among the tanks not exceeding 20o C. Sam-sung performed highest followed by brands Kenstar and Videocon. Brands Onida and IFB were left

behind in terms of uniform heating tests.

Heating PerformancesThe purpose of this test is to

evaluate the temperature evenness and heating time, when the oven is used for heating beverages, as most of the consumers use micro-wave ovens for heating purpose. They just heat their food in it. Pa-nasonic and Kenstar performed exceedingly well in this parameter.

Ease of Use: In terms of Con-venience and Ease of use, which is very vital for consumers for a long lasting use of this appliance, most of the brands were very convenient to use & maintain except brand Haier that was difficult as compared to others. But brands Samsung & Pa-nasonic were quit simple to operate & use. Brand Onida and Panasonic has given a colorful & comprehen-sive Recipe cooking book enabling for regular/specific cooking appli-cations especially Onida for Indian foods.

Input Power: Input power is the power drawn by an electrical appliance for its normal operation for which it is designed & rated. In-put Power was measured in micro-wave, grill and convection modes where most of the brands didnt meet these requirements ( 10% of declared value). LG performed highest among the brands tested followed by Whirlpool and Godrej.

Comparative Test

Minuted Mutton test

Mar

ch 2

010

Consumer voice

Radiation HazardsMicrowave ovens should be so

designed that excessive microwave leakage is prevented. The micro-wave leakage should not exceed 5 mW/cm2.

All the brands passed this impor-tant safety test. Kenstar, Videocon, Panasonic, Onida, Electrolux, Godrej and Whirlpool were found safest to use. There was minor leakage in LG and Haier but within limits.

Power Output: In terms of pow-er output Videocon and Onida have performed at par/very close to their rated power. Whirlpool was lowest among all, in terms of power output.

Noise Level Test: Microwave ovens should not produce any ex-cessive and unusual noise. 'Haier', 'Kenstar' and 'Panasonic' had high-er noise among the brands tested. 'LG' & 'Godrej' were less noisy fol-lowed by Videocon.

Efficiency: Except Videocon, IFB, Onida, Panasonic and Sam-sung, all the brands had efficiency at less than 50% level. Efficiency was measured between the mi-crowave power output v/s their rated powers. None of brands tested declared its efficiency. Vide-ocon (62.96%) followed by Onida (52.52%) and Samsung (51.74%)

gave the higher efficiency as com-pared to others and with Electrolux (44.66%) and Whirlpool (45.7%) gave lower efficiency among all the brands tested.

Endurance Test: The door system, hinges, microwave seals and other associated parts, should withstand wear as expected in nor-mal use. Compliance was checked by subjecting the door system to a total of 10,000 cycles. All micro-waves passed in this test.

Other Tests: The compli-ance was checked for other safety tests i.e. protection against electric shocks, electrical strength, Stability and Mechanical hazards where all the brands passed. However, leak-age current was higher in Godrej, Whirlpool, Samsung and Electrolux microwave oven which is not good as users may suffer shock during operation.

The TestThe comparative testing was

done for Microwave Ovens of con-vention type. The testing was car-ried out in an independent accred-ited laboratory as per our finalized test programme mainly based on relevant Indian standard IS: 11676 and related standards. Brand tested were mainly of 25 liters capacity or nearest capacity available.

What is a Microwave Oven?Microwave Oven is an appliance

that cooks food by means of high-

Useful Microwave Ovens Microwave ovens are generally used for time efficiency, rather than for cooking

quality, although some modern recipes prepared in microwave ovens rival recipes using traditional ovens and stoves.

People, who want fast cooking, can use microwave ovens to prepare food or to reheat stored food (including pre-cooked frozen dishes) in only a few minutes.

Microwave ovens can also be used to defrost items that will later be cooked by traditional methods, cutting the time it takes to defrost foods naturally.

roasting can be done easily in microwaves.

it is faster than conventional methods of cooking.

Nutrients are retained in the food. Protein foods dont brown when cooked in a microwave. This reduced oxidation means that nutrients like vitamin a and e are less likely to be destroyed.

Food heated quickly in a microwave retains more nutrients than foods kept hot for a long time, such as those simmered on a stove.

Potentially dangerous micro-organisms in food tend to thrive in temperatures between 5c and 60c. When you use a microwave oven, food can be thawed, cooked and served quickly. So it spends less time in the dangerous temperature zone.

it is also economical to use Microwave ovens as even a most time consuming recipe of minced meat could be cooked in 30 35 mts. chicken and Fish curry could take about 25% less time. overall, it still takes lesser time as compared to cooking on Gas stove etc.

No Frying/Smoking/Fuming takes place so it is a relatively clean form of cooking.

Very convenient to use as microwave cooking gives no smoke/fumes and spillage during cooking of boiled items.

Microwave costing requires least consumption of cooking oils/fats as no frying is involved.

it will always serve you hot and ready food since some key cooking test were con-ducted and found to be quite useful.

Comparative Test

cake test

March 2010

Consumer voice

frequency electromagnetic radiation. It is relatively a small box like oven that raises the temperature of food by subjecting it to a high-frequency electromagnetic field.

The microwaves are absorbed by water, fats, sugars, and certain other molecules, in the food being cooked whose resulting vibrations produce heat. The heating thus occurs inside the food, without warming the surrounding air. This process greatly reduces cooking time. Baking and other tasks that may require an hour or more in a conventional oven, can be completed in minutes in a microwave oven.

There are three basic types of microwave oven available in the market:

1. Standard: These heat only with microwaves and can be used for all sorts of everyday tasks such as defrosting, reheating and general cooking.

2. Microwave with a Grill: This is a microwave with a grilling option, which allows browning and crisping of the food after its cooked.

3. Combination: This is a normal oven, which heats with microwaves, also by convection (Convection - heat is supplied by an electric element and a fan that circulates heated air around the food, just as in an ordinary convection oven).

This is a microwave, grill, and convection oven rolled into one.

Think before buying: if you want to buy a new microwave oven, youve probably discovered that the range of models and options can be confusing. What is the best size and power capacity for your needs?

consider the capacity according to your requirements such as family size, social pat-tern and the usage profile: whether you would use just for heating food, baking, or grilling. also consider the type of foods you would like to cook.

In the convection mode, hot air is circulated through the oven cavity with the help of a fan, which bakes, browns and delivers the crispy food. Convection microwaves are more expensive than conventional microwave ovens.

Microwave Radiation Leakage: Myth or Reality

Our rigorous testing has established that there was no major microwave radiation leakages found before, during and after the various performance tests. Also on completion of 10000 times opening & closings of oven door during endurance, test there was no radiation leakage thus all qualify to be safe for in-house kitchen usage even for over 6-10 years of regular use.

Depending on the model you buy, a microwave oven can:

Brown, roast, and grill foods like a conventional oven

Prepare specific recipes using a pre-programmed touch keypad

Cook entire meals without overheating your kitchen

Automatically shut off when a sensor determines the food is done.

Safety Precautions1. Look for Microwave specific

cookware.

2. Never use metal or metal trimmed utensils in your microwave oven.

3. Do not operate oven when empty (except Prep-heat mode) it is best to leave a glass of water in the oven when not in use. The water will safely absorb all microwave energy, if the oven is accidentally started.

4. Do not operate the oven with a kitchen towel or a napkin, always use gloves when removing dish from oven.

5. Do not rinse the turntable by placing it in water just after cooking.

6. Do not cook eggs in their shell as these will explode.

7. Do not attempt deep fat frying in your oven.

8. Remove the plastic wrapping from food before defrosting.

9. If smoke is observed, switch off or disconnect the oven from the power supply and keep the oven door closed.

10. Liquid or other foods must not be heated in sealed containers.

11. Do not cover the ventilation slots.

12. Read instruction manual carefully before use supplied by manufacturer.

13. Avoid or use Minimum amount of aluminium foil for cooking wrapped food.

Comparative Test

egg custard test

Mar

ch 2

010

Consumer voice10

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Comparative Test

Creamy Delicacies

Who doesnt want to have ice creams? From the age of 5 years to the age of 80 years, everyone loves ice creams and in any season. ice creams are sold in many varieties of packaging variants and flavours across the world. after a survey, Consumer VOiCE revealed that the most selling variant and common variety is Vanilla flavour. Consumer VOiCE tested 9 famous brands of ice creams and 2 desserts of Vanilla flavour.

Ice cream is an enormously popu-lar food. These are actually pur-chased based on consumers prefer-ences, choices and needs. Consumer VOICE chooses family pack size of about 1 litre for comparative testing. To make people aware about the ice creams, Consumer VOICE took 11 brands of the most popular flavour, i.e. Vanilla. For evaluation of these brands based on National Stand-ards, other consumer expectations and inherent substances normally found in its raw material, we final-ized the test programme consider-ing various key parameters. The Ice cream brands were gone through the microbiological and sensory tests to judge the consumer accept-ability of product.

The microbiological parameters covered pathogenic and other bac-terial contamination tests, which were conducted to judge the qual-ity of ice cream in term of micro-bial safety. It has been found that 3 brandsNirulas, Vadilal and Ver-ka could not qualify to be fully ac-ceptable from microbiological safety point of view.

The Ice-cream ScoopMost people are very familiar

with the appearance, taste and texture of ice cream and there are many recipes for making it in cook-

ery books. However, few people know why certain ingredients and a time consuming preparation proc-ess are required. The answer is that ice cream is an extremely complex, intricate and delicate substance.

In term of inherent quality of the products, in respect of various key parameters, brand Amul ful-fills all the requirement on quality and safety, and is top performer followed by brand Heritage and Metro. Brands Kwality Walls and Vadilal after examining their la-bels. It was noticed that these brands are actually frozen desserts, thus these brands (were deviating from labeling requirement) should distinctly mark on label and recom-mend to those who are restricted to consume milk fat and protein.

Sweet and Creamy

Since ice creams are emulsi-fied and whipped with air, due to which their ratio between volumes by weight is more and consumers get just over 50% of the whole

mass in term of its volume. Thus, low value for money consumers gets especially if you compare with the traditional kulfis made of boiled milk. About total fat, brand Mother Dairy was the top performer in-dicating high level of milk cream contents. In term of taste that at-tracts most of the consumers about this product, brands Amul, MTR Cream Bell and Verka were the tastier among all the brands but brands Kwality Walls, Vadilal and Nirulas were less tasty. In overall performance, brands Amul, Metro, Heritage and MTR are recom-m e n d e d b e s t

Comparative Test

voiceConsumer 11

March 2010

Mar

ch 2

010

Consumer voice12

for consumption. Brands Nirulas, Vadilal and Verka are advised to go for preventive steps to minimize microbial contaminants to take care of their production and supply chain to avoid recurrence and thus care for human safety.

Over-run (fluffing) in Ice Cream

The determination of over-run in frozen and hardened ice cream is a complex problem to solve because the weight of mix is unknown and has to be determined. The over-run in ice cream depends upon the amount of air whipped into the mix, during the freezing process.

Volume v/s Weight of Ice-Creams

As per the Indian Standards, net weight of ice cream and frozen dessert should be minimum 525 gm/litre and for medium fat frozen dessert, it should be minimum 475 gm/litre. However, brands Baskin

The Differenceice cream is a frozen dairy product pre-pared by suitable blending and processing of cream and other dairy products together with sugar and flavour, with or without stabilizers or colour, and with the incor-poration of air during the freezing process.

Frozen Dessert means the product ob-tained by freezing a pasteurized mix pre-pared with milk fat and edible vegetable oils & fats having a melting point of not more than 37oc in combination.

Robbins, Kwality Walls and Her-itage were found underweight. Brand Amul topped in terms of weight/volume (620gms/1000ml).

Brief of Key ParametersMoisture: This generally re-

fers to the presence of water and should be minimum. But brand Kwality Walls was found with a higher moisture content, among all the tested brands.

Milk Fat: Butter-fat or milk fat is the fatty portion of milk. Ice cream consists of milk fat. The fat component adds richness of fla-vour, contributes to a smooth tex-ture with creamy body and good meltdown, and adds lubrication to the palate as it is consumed.

Frozen dessert consists of veg-etable fat instead of milk fat. Veg-etable fats are used extensively as fat sources in frozen dessert.

The value of milk fat in ice cream and vegetable oil / fat in frozen dessert should not be less than 10% and in case of medium fat frozen dessert, it should be in between 510%. The test shows brand Mother Dairy has the high-est total fat percentage, whereas, brand Heritage was found to be the lowest amongst all.

Protein: These modify the texture of the ice cream and fro-zen dessert in other ways, making it chewier, and giving it body. Pro-teins also help to emulsify the fats, keeping the fat globules suspended in the mix.

Acidity as Lactic Acid: Acid-ity of a packaged product is related to the shelf life of the product. If acidity (lactic acid) is lower than the minimum limit, microbes may grow, will allow contamination of the product, and reduce the shelf life of the product. All the brands conform the maximum limit in the test.

Sucrose: This ingredient gives sweet taste and uniform texture to the product. Besides thick density, it also acts as a preservative. The sugars give the product its char-acteristic sweetness and palatabil-ity and enhance the perception of various fruit flavours. Brand Metro was found with higher sucrose and brand Nirulas was found with low-er sucrose content, in the test.

Synthetic Colour: Colour is one of the main reasons why people enjoy the ice cream. A food colour is substance that is added to food product to change its colour. Except brands Baskin Robbins and Niru-las, all the brands were free from synthetic colour, which is good for consumer.

Saccharine: It is an artificial sweetener. It has effectively no food energy and is much sweeter than sucrose, but has an unpleas-ant bitter or metallic aftertaste, especially at high concentrations. Each brand passed this test, as no brand is added with saccharine.

Vegetable Fat: Vegetable fats and oils are lipid materials derived from plants. Ice cream expected to be free from vegetable fat. How-

Ice Creams Rankamul 1

Metro 2

heritage 3

Mother Dairy 4

MTr 5

Verka 6

cream Bell 7

Baskin robbins 8

Nirulas 9

Frozen Desserts Kwality Walls 1

Vadilal 2

Comparative Test

March 2010

Consumer voice 1

ever, frozen dessert consists of veg-etable fat instead of milk fat.

Trans Fat: Trans Fatty acids are unsaturated fatty acids. Just like saturated fats, they also raise the level of bad cholesterol in blood. All the brands were free from trans fat.

Cholesterol: Cholesterol plays a central role in many biochemical processes, which is best known for the association of cardiovascular disease. Cholesterol especially bad one also increasing the risk of nerv-ous system problems, brain synapse connectivity, gall bladder stones and perhaps even cancer. These cholesterols are inherently found in the milk fats processed from ani-mal milk. Brand Mother Dairy was

found with higher cholesterol con-tent however brand Kwality Walls was found with lower quantity of cholesterol.

Standard Plate Count: Micro-biological contamination is a very serious issue for all food products. We conducted this test for Standard Plate count, Yeast & Mould, Colif-orm count, S. aureus, Salmonella, Shigella, Listeria monocytogenes and Anaerobic spore count. Mi-croorganisms are responsible for many foods born disease. Due to improper or poor hygienic condition during processing of ice cream, mi-croorganisms occur in the finished product. Brands Nirulas, Vadilal and Verka had Anaerobic spore

Brand 'amul' topped the overall test and is good to buy for consumers.

Brand amul and MTr were found excel-lent in sensory panel test.

Brand amul gave max amount of ice-cream in terms of volume by weight i.e. 620 gms/ltr. all the other remaining brands are below 600 gms/ltr.

all the brands were free from Saccharine & vegetable fat.

all the brands were free from pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, Shigella, Listeria monocytogens. But the brands Nirulas, Vadilal and Verka had anaerobic spore count and coliform count more than the maxi-mum permissible limit thus not safe for consumption.

Brands Baskin robbins, Kwality Walls and heritage were found under-weight.

Brand cream Bell, Nirulas, Vadilal Verka and 'Mother Dairy' were found with higher yeast & mould count.

Brand cream Bell and 'Nirula's' were found with standard plate count higher than the maximum limit.

except brands Baskin robbins and Nirulas no other brand was found with added synthetic colour.

Brand Baskin robbins had the best packing and got highest weightage.

Brand MTr was packed with a lowest quality of packing material among all the brands tested.

Brand cream Bell and Vadilal did not mention volume.

Brand Baskin robbins did not mention MrP on their packing.

Key Findingscount more than the limit thus not safe for consumption.

As per the Indian Standard to-tal plate count in ice cream should not be more than 2.5x105. Brand Cream Bell and Nirulas did not meet the requirement and found with total plate count more than the maximum limit.

yeast and Mould Count: Brands Cream Bell, Nirulas, Vadi-lal, Verka and 'Mother Dairy' were found with highest yeast and mould count, which should be absent.

Good for ConsumersAll the brands tested, were

found to be free from, artificial sweeteners, vegetable fats, trans-fat, starch, gelatin etc.

Ice Cream Facts The amount of fat and air in the ice

cream determines its quality.

Super Premium ice creams have 16% fat.

average ice creams have 12% 14% fat.

cheap ice creams have upto 50% air.

General rule: The heavier the ice cream the better it will be - be-cause it has less air added.

When buying ice cream, if you want to compare ice creams - com-pare the weight. ice cream can be sold at a lower price when a great-er amount of the ice cream is just air!

When making ice cream at home, be sure to read and be familiar with the directions for your par-ticular appliance.

The faster the freeze, the smoother the texture of the ice cream.

Never let ice cream melt and re-freeze.

Store ice cream covered so it does not absorb flavors from other foods.

Comparative Test

Mar

ch 2

010

Consumer voice1

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user Test

Antibacterial SoapNo ProtectionUrban consumer, out and about, has anxieties about touching or coming into contact with various surfaces during the day and picking up germs or bacteria along the way. hand washing, in any case is an indian habit that has stood us in good stead, but now with pandemics being the order of the day, a more rigorous hand washing routine is seen as a must. Most companies are cashing in on this and pushing a variety of hand wash, anti bacterial, germ combating soaps and liquids into the market and consumer homes. it was observed in the Voice office washroom that most people avoided using soap cakes, because these were perceived to be unclean as a number of users were constantly putting them to use. however, when these were replaced with liquid hand wash, everybody felt that it was a comparatively more sanitary product. consumer Voice tested 8 brands of anti bacterial liquid handwash.

Most consumer goods with antibacterial properties, marketed aggressively, are unnecessary, and may even contribute to antibiotic-resistant super germs. Its better to avoid them.

With all current concerns about bird flu and now H1N1not to mention a desire to avoid the common cold and intestinal complaintsits tempting to reach for the soap labeled antibacterial the next time you hit the super-

voice 1Consumer

March 2010

market shelves. Sales of antibacterial hand soaps and antiseptic hand gels have been soaring in recent years with aggressive company marketing.

Antibacterial Soap No Protection from Swine Flu

The ingredients in antibacterial soaps triclosan or triclocarban have some serious toxicity concerns. These chemicals pollute rivers and streams, are toxic to wildlife, can enter and accumulate in peoples bodies, and disrupt hormone systems (triclosan interferes with thyroid hormone, whereas triclocarban has a testosterone-like effect).

Triclosan Use is BadTriclosan is a toxic pesticide

thats marketed as an antibacterial agent but is powerful enough to threaten childrens health and pollute mothers breast milk.

According to a study by researchers at the non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG), triclosan has been linked to cancer in lab animals. Triclosan disrupts the endocrine system by blocking the tadpoles and dolphins developments.

The bottom line is: Dont use antibacterial soaps! Do wash your

Mar

ch 2

010

Consumer voice1

user Test

hands frequently with regular soap and water, and do use hand sanitizers when youre not near a sink!

Its useful to remember that triclosan, like other pesticides, is a poison. Its poisonous to bacteria. We may be far removed from bacteria, way up in the evolutionary branches of life, but the common chemistry of living things means that chemicals that affect one form of life often affect others too.

Why is triclosan used so widely? People buy it. And marketers sell it. The markets worth is estimated at $1 billion in the US alone and now the increasing popularity of this product amongst consumers can mean more earnings for the industry by putting consumer and environmental health at risk.

Broad-spectrum antiseptics like alcohol kill bacteria in a completely different way than triclosan does. Since alcohol kills bacteria by physically rupturing the cell wall and many other components, its

The six basic claims for not using Triclosan in consumer products:

Triclosan doesnt work in consumer products.

Triclosans widespread use increases the chances of harmful bacteria becoming resistant to the drug.

Triclosan builds up in the body.

Triclosan may disrupt human hormones.

Triclosan can react with other chemicals to form dioxin and chloroform, which are known to be toxic.

Triclosan contaminates water, affecting marine wildlife and ecosystems.

almost impossible for bacteria to evolve resistance.

Whats a Concerned consumer to Do?

Most experts agree that the best way to prevent the transmission of disease is to simply practice proper hand-washing techniques with plain soap and water. This means washing with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds and drying with a clean towel to further aid in removing bacteria.

How We Tested? We did a detailed survey of the

most-sold and most-used anti-bacterial liquid hand washes easily available in the market.

We chose 8 brands most-sold, and easily available in the Indian market for our user tests.

We distributed samples of different liquid hand washes to different users and asked them to compare.

Users were also provided with a questionnaire.

Hand gels/sanitizersIf water is not available, try an alcohol-based hand gel.

If used properly, these can be at least as effective as hand washing in destroying bacteria and viruses for maximum effectiveness of alcohol-based hand gels:

The hands must not be visibly soiled; otherwise, the alcohol-based hand gel wont work as well.

The hand gel must contain between 60 and 70 percent alcohol. (Look for one that also contains a moisturizer, since alcohol can be very drying to the hands.)

It takes the alcohol about 15 to 20 seconds to rupture the bacterias cell wall. Therefore, you must use enough of the gel that it takes at least 15 to 20 seconds of rubbing to dry; otherwise, it wont be as effective.

user TestM

arch 2010

1voiceConsumer

Consumer VOiCE purchased 8

liquid anti

bacterial hand washes and p

ut them to

test by users. there is an

interesting

array of liquid hand washe

s available

in the market. We have fou

nd that the

products for family are en

tering the

indian market on a large sca

le.

COnSUMER OBSERVatiOn

godrej Protekt: provides a choice in original, blossom and citrus types, although ingredients listed are the same and fragrance is not specified except in its name on front label. Packaging looks the same except in the colour of the plastic bottles.

good look: it has a transparent bottle and liquid but the colour is a turquoise blue, which is the same as those of toilet cleaners, hence a little off putting for most consumers. The packaging or the bottle shape is also a little inconvenient, as it requires a lot of space on the hand basin. calls itself Good Look but doesnt live up to its name. The name is also not perceived to be appropriate to its function.

dettol: bottle says original, though other variations, if any are not easily available. it also says 10 times better but doesnt specify than what. Dettol also has the provision for the refill pack. This brand is seen as one of the trusted brand.

lifebuoy: Like dettol, Lifebuoy is perceived as an old trusted brand of products. it retains its colour range of red and white (other fragrances are available in other colours). Thus, providing continuity of association in consumer minds. it has as attractive differently shaped bottle as compared to most others. also has provision for a refill.

Savlon: Simple, no nonsense bottle claims to be just a "liquid handwash" for gentle protection. Does not list any parabens. also seen as a trusted brand.

Externa: handwash claims to provide "germ defense" with triclo-activities, which most consumers are not familiar with. also, includes a cautionary note, unlike most brands.

Palmolive: Palmolive has a fragrance similar to their shaving gel, which did not find easy acceptance with female users. it has a transparent, attractive bottle with transparent liquid, perceived by some users to be preferable to the creamy type. Many consumers are similarly attracted to transparent cake soaps.

Santoor: experiments with the bottle design and shape, but that does not seem to add to its profile. Most consumers chose to discard it prior to use and wanted brands that they are more familiar with in the antibacterial range.

Mar

ch 2

010

Consumer voice1

user Test

Antibacterial Liquid Handwash at a Glance

S.no. name WeightPrice (Rs.)

label Claim Comments Rating

1Dettol original Liquid hand Wash

250ml 5510 times better protection against a wide range of germs

No negative effect, fresh fragrance, makes skin soft after use, less lather, good colour, easy to apply, easy wash off, excellent to use.

2Lifebuoy hand

Wash care200ml 45

Proven protection from germs with goodness Neem & lemongrass

Fresh fragrance, feel after use is soft, no negative effect, sufficient lather, easy to apply, easy wash off, good to use.

3

Jhonson & Jhonson Savlon Liquid hand-wash

250ml 55 Gentle protectionSkin becomes soft after use, fresh fra-grance, sufficient lather, easy to apply, easy wash off, very good in using.

4externa hand Wash

250ml 65Germ defence, active clean

Make skin soft after application, fresh fragrance, no negative effect, sufficient lather, good colour, easy to apply.

5Wipro Santoor Soft hand Wash

250ml 55

Gentle moisturizing, Germ protection, Maintain skin ph balance

Good packaging, no negative effect, pleasant fragrance, makes skin soft after use, good smell, easy to apply.

6Godrej Protekt hand Wash

250ml 55anti bacterial, kills germs

Fragrance is unpleasant, no fresh feeling after wash, sufficient lather, no negative effect, easy to apply.

7Palmolive Natu-rals Liquid hand Wash

250ml 55 remove germs

Good colour, easy to apply, pleasant fragrance, attractive packaging but harsh on the skin and not easy to rinse off.

8Good Look anti-bacterial Liquid handwash

500ml 85

Good Look antibacte-rial liquid handwash formulated for sensi-tive soft and gentle hand. combination with triclosan to protect skin and intensive act against dryness. Leaving hands delicately cared clean soft and healthy, fruity fragrance.

attractive packaging, soothing fra-grance, no negative effect, and texture is sticky. Sufficient lather, not easy to wash off.

Star Rating (total 5):

Safety

health

Price/ Special offers

User reviews-Fulfilling user explanation

advertisement/ label claim: True or not

excellent

Very Good

Good

average

Poor

1

March 2010

Consumer voice 1

What is Bt Brinjal?Bt Brinjal is created by inserting

a gene from bacteria into Brinjal.

Controversy of Bt Brinjal:This is said to give the Brinjal

plant and the brinjal itself, an effec-tive built-in protection against Shoot Borer. These are factors which can be addressed through more conven-tional means while concerns about possible adverse impact on human health, bio-safety of consumers, biodiversity of nature and livelihoods of farmers remain unanswered by the current hype about the product.

Another area of concern is that as a general rule Genetically Modi-fied (GM) crops should not be cul-tivated in the place of its origin, as it could lead to the loss of original varieties by cross pollination with GM varieties. For brinjal India is the country of origin.

Entry & Exit of Bt Brinjal:Genetically Modified (GM) Bt

Brinjal was developed by Mahar-

The questions about GM technology that are relevant to consumer safety, whether they be farmers or average consumers are the concern of consumer organizations like Voice. The very first one of these is: are genetically modified crops safe to consume , especially on a daily basis? are the current sources of research available for ready reference about the viability of GM foods, trustworthy? in the absence of labelling how are consumers to choose between GM and the indigenous varieties? is it even possible to label hundreds of varieties of seasonal vegetables available in the unorganized sector? and the most vital one: why brinjal of all the vegetables, which is not only indigenous to india but currently, around 2500 varieties are grown across the country. Brinjal is second only to the potato in terms of the total quantity produced.

Temporary Relief

astra Hybrid Seed Company Ltd. (Mahyco). Monsanto, a USA com-pany has 26% stake in Mahyco. All the currently available information is produced by these MNCs.

On October 14th, 2009 The Genetic Engineering Approvals Committee (GEAC) gave its obser-vations on Bt Brinjal in following terms: ..as this decision of the GEAC has very important policy im-plication at the national level, the GEAC decided its recommendation for environmental release may be put up to the Government for tak-ing final view on the matter.

Complete Report was uploaded on the Ministry website for public comments up to December 31, 2009. During January and February 2010 Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State (Independent In Charge) of E n v i r o n m e n t and Forests held consultations in

different locations with scientists, agriculture experts, farmers organizations, consumer groups and NGOs.

On February 9th, 2010 Minis-ter imposed a moratorium on the release of Bt Brinjal, theme of his decision is as follows:

India isnt the first country to ban the use of genetically modified foods. In 2008, Monsanto lost an appeal in French courts against a ban on GM corn.

Bt Brinjal:Health

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It is my duty to adopt a cau-nous, precaunonary principle-based approach and impose a moratorium on the release of Bt-brinjal, till such time inde-pendent scientific studies estab-lish, to the satisfaction of both the public and professionals, the safety of the product from the point of view of its long-term impact on human health and environment, including the rich genetic wealth existing in brinjal in our country.

nature. To minimize environmental effects, and to reduce any effect from naturallyoccurring genotypic variation within a crop variety, each trial site should be replicated. An adequate number of plants should be sampled and the methods of analysis should be sufficiently sensi-tive and specific to detect variations in key components.

Codex Alimentarius Guideline for the Conduct of Food Safety As-sessment of Foods Derived from Re-combinant DNA Plants says The location of trial sites should be rep-resentative of the range of environ-mental conditions under which the plant varieties would be expected to be grown. The number of trial sites should be sufficient to allow accu-rate assessment of compositional characteristics over this range. Simi-larly, trials should be conducted over a sufficient number of generations to allow adequate exposure to the variety of conditions met in nature. To minimize environmental effects, and to reduce any effect from natu-rallyoccurring genotypic variation within a crop variety, each trial site should be replicated. An adequate number of plants should be sam-pled and the methods of analysis should be sufficiently sensitive and specific to detect variations in key components.

It appears that the current standards by which the Genetic Engineering Approvals Committee (GEAC) has formulated the decision to approve Bt-brinjal do not match Codex norms. India is a member country of Codex Alimentarius Commission.

Consumer VOICE supports the moratorium on Bt brinjal for rea-sons of consumer and environmen-tal safety and health.

Food Consultant: Ashok Kanchan

In May 2001, Sri Lanka also banned the importation of geneti-cally modified foods. Regulations in Italy, Greece, France, Denmark and Luxembourg have enforced de facto moratoriums on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO), while other countries in the European Union have limited GMO field test-ing, imports and marketing.

Codex Alimentarius Guideline for the Conduct of Food Safety As-sessment of Foods Derived from Re-combinant DNA Plants says The location of trial sites should be rep-resentative of the range of environ-mental conditions under which the plant varieties would be expected to be grown. The number of trial sites should be sufficient to allow accu-rate assessment of compositional characteristics over this range. Similarly, trials should be conducted over a sufficient number of genera-tions to allow adequate exposure to the variety of conditions met in

Health

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World Consumer Rights Day15 March

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Taking the indian tradition of oiling hair before shampooing or washing them, Garnier oil+shampoo aim to capture the indian womans imagination. When consumer Voice decided to focus on this product, there was much enthusiasm among its young workforce of working women, overloaded, always in a hurry, but wanting to keep with trends and wanting to look their best all day long. hair is a big feminine issue, and most of us are familiar with bad hair days. Frequent washing is however, perceived to cause hair damage, especially when not preceded with the oil routine. The Garnier Fructis oil+shampoo appears to be a heaven sent solution to hair woes. The indian women also battles between the allure of long hair and short manageable hair. Long hair requires complicated care routines and such a product was needed. But is it going to be a successour story will tell.

Oil TraditionNowIn Shampoo

Age-old Tradition of Oiling

In the Indian tradition, a wom-ens hair is considered her crown-ing glory. Women have historically been identified with long, thick lus-trous locks that cascade down to their waist. Hair is associated with strength and beauty. So what is the secret of beautiful hair? In India, oiling your hair and scalp always precedes washing it. Many people naturally associate the application of oil with being greasy. Nothing could be more untrue. Hair treat-

ments using oil provide deep con-ditioning and help cleanse micro dust particles that cause dandruff, irritation, infections, and even certain types of alopecia or hair loss. Also, applying oil to the scalp promotes relaxation, a process which in itself is extremely impor-tant for healthy hair.

http://feelgoodstyle.com/2008 /08/12/beauty-secrets-from-india-oiling-your-hair/

In todays fast-moving world of stress and multitasks, women are

putting the health of their hair at risk. Since ancient times in India, there are few methods of reducing white hair, hair loss and dandruff. Hair oiling is a tradition in India from many centuries. As a solution for many hair problems, hair oiling in India is a tradition still followed by most women.

Hailing from Indias Ayurvedic traditions, adding some drops of bay and lavender essential oils to some of sesame, almond, olive, coconut, mustard, amla or soybean

Product review

But will it work?Find out...

March 2010

Consumer voice 2

oil and massaging into your scalp is beneficial to the health of your hair. Scientifically, the purpose for this practice is increasing the flow of blood to the roots of your hair. After using these oils, a wait of

How to oil our hair heat oil to a warm temperature before applying it on your hair

Make partitions while oiling your hair. rub oil in each partition.

Massaging is more important than the quantity of oil you use

Massage with your fingers at least for 1015 minutes after oiling your hair

avoid washing your hair immediately after oiling.

if your hair is very dry you should oil it at least once a week

rub oil on the roots of your hair. it helps to improve blood circulation and make hair silky and strong.

For real conditioning by oil massage, wrap a moist, women towel around your hair for quick results. alternatively, you can also keep the oil on doing the right before the wash. Taking care of your hair pays rich dividends.

OIL Profile of Oil+ Shampoo

avocado oil: is a nourishing oil for the skin and hair. avocado oil is said to be rich in essential and trace minerals and Vitamin a. its prop-erties and texture make it especially suitable for use in hair care. Due to its aroma and thick, oily consistency, avocado oil is typically used at a low ratio (highly diluted) in blends and formulations.

Source: http://www.aromaweb.com/vegetableoils/avocadooil.asp

Olive Oil: is routinely for hair and skin care. it is a favorite among all the health conscious people. it has been widely used in soaps making them mild and skin friendly. The customer is spoiled for choice, but the labels on olive oil bottles can be quite confusing: extra virgin, vir-gin, 100 per cent olive oil, refined olive oil , pomace olive oil, and so on. Virgin olive oils come only from the olive, by way of mechanical or other physical means, under thermal conditions that do not alter the oil in any way. extra-virgin olive oil is most expensive and flavour-ful and is the highest quality of olive oil. olive-Pomace oil come from the ground flesh and pits left after pressing, and processing involves use of solvents and other physical methods. The oil can be crude or refined. The stuff marketed as olive Pomace oil is actually a blend of refined olive pomace oil and virgin oils.

Source: http://beta.thehindu.com/life-and-style/Food/article109588.ece

Shea Butter: lubricates and moisturizes the skin and hair, and im-proves elasticity while greatly reducing years of skin and hair damage. The Shea Butter oils penetrate quickly, and are beneficial for hair, scalp and skin.

Source: http://www.healthlifeline.com/servlet/the-Shea-Butter-oil/categories

about half an hour is recommended before washing hair.

User Comments

Overall performance of the shampoo Garnier Shampoo+Oil

given to the users came up with a mix of comments.

Some users have long hair, they said, I think this would not go for me. I have long hair and after us-ing this, I could feel dryness in my hair. Using this shampoo makes my hair unmanageable. We could not use this shampoo, without hair oiling.

Some users have short hair, they said, Using this shampoo make our hair feel softer, shinier and manageable. We can even try to shift to this shampoo from the one we are already using.

All the users felt that its pack-aging is very attractive, it has very good fragrance and is easy to apply and use.

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special report

Our Many and Varied Stories:

Our history goes back 5,000 years and so do our epics that contain every emotion, possibility and philosophy that humans have ever managed to come up with. Not to mention a frightening amount of maths, if were considering the ages that make up the four yugas. Add to that the epics of Islam and Christianity, local folk traditions and tales that simply emerge from our fertile brains, and were wondering why our TV channels need to import bad reality shows from phoren and inflict them on us. We are the master mythsmyths of the world!

Bargaining: Worry about being cheated,

who us? Thats because we dont see bargaining only as a legitimate means of lowering prices. We see it as a sport. So we will not move an inch from the 'thela wala' even if the sun is blazing down at 53 degrees. We want that 30 paise off our kilo of apples and that is that. We also get to hear the music of several dialects into the bargain!

Were Child-friendly: Aside from the fact that we love

children so that were soon going to produce enough to populate the entire world, everything in our lives is geared towards their happiness. So much so that our parents never want us to leave home.

Amazing Diversity of Food Taboos:

We have vegetarians who will eat all vegetables but wont touch

bargepole and non-vegetarians who think green veggies are a form of mould. We know how to get the flattest food to be flavourful. Long live the Indian spice box!

Ability to Adapt Other Cuisines to Our Tastes:

Hot and Sour Chinese soup has desi tadka. Sandwiches arent thinly

"Saare Jahaan Se niraala"

Indian Consumer!

garlic or onion, we have eggetarians who will only eat vegetables and eggs, we have chickenatarians who only eat vegetables and chicken but not eggs, we have fishitarians who will not touch dairy with a

sliced and lightly buttered slices of bread with slivers of cucumber. We add green

chutney and sliced aloo and beetroot. We invented Chicken and Veg Manchurian, developed Udipi pizzas, concocted onion omelettes, created veg kheema, de-Japanesed Japanese food by cooking up gajjar-ka-sushi. Our taste reigns supreme!

World Consumer Rights Day Special

March 2010

Consumer voice 2

special report

We Survived the Recession: Thats because even though we

are clambering up the conspicuous consumption ladder just like those who drove their economies to the brink of extinction, unlike them we have a culture of caution and saving that pulled us through when entire countries had to declare bankruptcy. We save any and everything and we might just end up saving the planet as well!

Monsoon Mania:

Who needs marijuana or Ecstasy? The monsoon is what we get high on. After a long summer spent fantasizing about the bluster of Monsoon, we see the sky begin to darken, then the first drops of rain hit the earth, then we breathe

deep and our nostrils fill with the delicious scent of wet earth. Now that the climate change is here who knows when the mania will there into a myth.

Raddiwalas: When people start making

noises about our carbon credits ours, for heavens sake, when we are the most frugal people on this

planet are always trying not only to save but also to re-cycle, re-use, repair and re-invent everything. India is a country where recycling has always been a business, thanks to the raddiwala.

Jugaad: Nothing in India need only be

what it was originally meant to be. A motorcycle can be attached to a cart and become a bael-gaadi, a tangle of wires could become a satellite dish. We find solutions to everyday problems without having to call in the experts, who we cannot afford in any case!

Sustainability is Our Second Name:

When the whole world is looking for sustainable solutions to todays problems, weve access to our traditional knowledge where it is possible to find an answer to the most chaotic of post modern situations.

Weddings and Family Occasions:

Our weddings are attended by family, relatives, friends, past and present neighbours, people who invited you to their or their siblings weddings, past and present colleagues, random strangers because we like to celebrate with people. If however, our homes are filled with the population of only one small country, like Bangladesh, were just having a family dinner. Community and family are important to us!

Our Fasts and Festivals: Our lunar calendar to allow

us to swing between fasting and feasting. Our fasts help us deal with fast food binges and our feasts allow us to travel across the country to combine spirituality with leisure! Where else would you be allowed to combine visits to the abode of gods if all you needed was a break!

With apologies to Hindustan Times Brunch

World Consumer Rights Day Special

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of the total 134 million TV

households in the country,

50% are in the rural areas,

as per the figures released

by television audience

measurement agency TaM

Media research. Not just

that, 30% of the 70 million

TV households in rural

india do not have access to

cable and satellite (c&S) TV.

The data further identifies

two trends. one, the market

for digital TV is bigger in

rural areas, and is growing

at a much higher rate than

in urban areas. and two,

bulk of this digital TV is

DTh. 20 million households

watching TV through a DTh

connection and growing.

are you one of them? We

bring you excerpts from

an indepth article Direct

to rural homes by rahul

Sharma.

Clear the mist. It is not meant for just urban folks! That was one of the instructions given to the team who drove a float van, with a big dish mounted on it, through the hinterland of Andhra Pradesh last year. Giving a demo of Reliance ADAG groups direct-to-home or DTH service Big TV, the campaign lasting for 30 days notched up 5,000 subscribers, says the company. Strange as it may seem, the companys on-ground activities attempted to dispel the myth that DTH was targeted at only the cosmopolitan television viewer with deep pockets living in the big metros.

Airtel, which started its DTH services in October 2008, had initially focused on the metros, launching a high-decibel campaign

endorsed by celebrities of all hues to attract customers. But failing to garner too many subscriptions, it, too, went in for a change of strategy in April last year. The focus on tier 2 and tier 3 cities has worked well for the company, with 1.5 million subscribers added in the period since then.

Tata Sky, which started with the aim to win over cable homes in the urban centres too has strengthened its focus on the rural markets.

In the last one year or so, all the DTH operators in India have been aggressively marketing their products in the non-metro cities. For the market leader, Essel Group owned Dish TV India going rural was natural. With not many channels, especially the popular ones, on

report

March 2010

Consumer voice 2

board, it could not take the cable operators head on in big urban cities when it started its services. So it set up a distribution network in small towns and cities to capture the market there. Six years down the line, the company with around 250 channels on offer, however, is yet to break even on full basis.

The Story So FarToday, there are six players

in the market with a combined subscriber base of around 20 million and nearly 1 million new subscribers signing up every month. Besides the afore-mentioned Dish TV, Tata Sky, Airtel Digital TV and Dish TV, theres Sun Direct, which has primarily concentrated on the DTH market in the south and the latest entrant, Videocon d2h, promoted by consumer durables company Videocon Group. Interestingly, all of them except for this new entrant, either have a broadcasting/ entertainment business (as in the case of Dish TV and Sun Direct) or a telecom company (examples are Airtel Digital TV, Tata Sky) or both (as in Big TV), the benefits of which are being leveraged to the maximum.

Price WarsThe entry of big companies

meant that the consumers were bombarded with high-decibel advertising campaigns, which has helped them mop up subscribers. But this also meant a price war and ARPU (average revenue per user) nose diving. Though this has been good news for consumers, the companies are taking a huge hit. With the companies heavily subsidizing, and in some cases, giving the set-top box (STB), which receives the signals from the DTH operator, literally for free, the cost of customer acquisition has remained

based independent provider of information pertaining to the media and entertainment sector, the combined loss of the entire DTH industry in 200809 stood at $450 million.

Its ARPU is one of the lowest in the world and which the MPA report says, is not sustainable. The FICCI-KPMG 2009 report on media and entertainment sector points to ARPU between $34 per month in India compared to $6080 in the US, the UK and Australia or $21 for most big players in Asia-Pacific.

Going RuralIn such a scenario, operators had

to aggressively look at expanding the market base and raise ARPU through means other than hiking subscriber fees. However, the urban market, especially the metros, was already saturated with multi system operators (MSOs) ready to give a tough fight to DTH players. MSOs are upgrading their networks and adding competitive services to rival the DTH operators while still offering popular local content to viewers, says Alan Dishington, GM, NDS India, a company that supplies technology to both DTH and cable companies.

That is where the rural market comes into picture. As figures indicate, there is a huge number of cable dark and cable underserved areas, most of them in rural India. These small cities, towns and villages have seen higher incomes and new aspirations. Around 15% of people in rural India can be equalized to the urban upper middle class. All companies can address that very well, said S Sivakumar, chief executive, agri business, ITC, at a marketing conference organized by All India Management Association recently. In addition,

report

high, between Rs 3000 and Rs 4000, say industry sources.

According to a report by Media Partners Asia (MPA), a Hong Kong

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cable operators in these regions do not have the muscle to take on the big corporate players from the DTH arena.

All of these have helped DTH operators taste success in the rural areas encouraging them to aggressively promote their services to the small town TV viewer.

So far the marketing campaigns of DTH operators have focussed on sound and picture quality, flexible payment structure and new interactive services. The DTH players are now looking at cost-effective subscription packages to woo consumers in small towns. DTH players such as Airtel Digital TV, Big TV or Tata Sky are also banking on their pre-paid mobile and fixed line customers in tier II and tier III cities to bite the bait, and have schemes where new DTH subscribers get free talk time on their phone connections or other such freebies. Others are working on low-cost STBs and

offering tailor-made packages, especially language channel packages that suit rural consumers interest.

Rural has the potential to push volumesbut there is still one hurdle for DTH companies as average revenue per user continues to suffer.

Creating Differentiators

To increase ARPU, the operators have been busy developing and selling interactive or value added services (VAS) that includes the entire gamut of applications ranging from interactive features to movies on demand. These services are charged and hence open up an additional revenue stream for the company, besides drawing subscriptions. A point to consider over here has been that even among the interactive services being offered, there are very few which target the rural consumer specifically.

The Indian market is a very different market compared to others though content exclusivity is what has driven DTH growth worldwide, its also true that nowhere in the world has DTH grown so fast as in India. Also, no country has had as many as six DTH players.

The Road Ahead

While in 2005 there were just a million households in India watching television through a DTH connection, four years later, the figure jumped to 20 million. DTH sector globally is expected to have 160 million subscribers by 2014. India is expected to account for 20% of global market share at 32 million subscribers by then, says Mohit Ralhan, head media and telecom, Barings Private Equity. And rural India is expected to be the focal point of this growth.

Edited & Excerpted from The Financial Express:

Brand Wagon 16 Feb 2010

report

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Consumer voice 2

come winter and our markets are full of winter range of clothes, specially woollen brands. There is a large variety available but the consumer must know some basic facts about wool, before investing in costly woollens. This fabric is very resistant to wrinkling. it is improved by moisture and is well known for its warmth. The hilly areas of the country have a rich collection of woollen textiles. among the wool products, Pashmina and embroidered shawls of Kashmir are famous examples of the woollen textile industry. The Pashmina shawls and s