We have a long way to go. By this I mean in being transparent. Funny how it is, transparency being the catchword here. It is not only bandied about in the political realm but nevertheless also glaringly absent where local products are concerned. Yes, I am griping again about local products. It seems to me that local manufacturers of consumer goods are out to take us for a ride, no – not in their Bentleys or Maybachs but to outright con you out of your hardearned cash. Read on :
1.Have you ever observed that weights of local products are well nigh invisible or so inconspicous that you have to turn the package over a few times before you can see the indicated weight – very often hidden among other text pertaining to the item or printed in non-contrasting colours in tiny fonts that is very difficult to discern without a magnifying glass. It is not some oversight but a devious measure to confuse you and make you unable to compare weights vis-a-vis price among competing brands. Guilty product lines include biscuits, noodles, confectionery, etc. Cunning, isn't it? This phenomenon is not seen in imported products- their weights and volumes being conspicously displayed on the frontal panels of the packages most of the time. Our locally based manufacturers must take us for fools – well, not me. A quick mental calculation will quickly show that the local product is not cheap at all when compared to the imported item – more so especially considering the better quality of the imported product.
2.Labelling sins are aplenty in local products. Take for example - toothpaste. How come the government is unable to compel manufacturers to list the ingredients used in their concoctions? Why do the local manufacturere resist the compulsion to list the ingredients? Is it because you wouldn't dare put toothpaste in your mouth if you know what horrendous chemicals go into that innocuous paste? I believe I have hit the nail on the head. Because of the failure to make the listing of ingredients mandatory, some time ago a big muckety-muck actually went on to advise consumers to use only a small bead of toothpaste each time, not the long swathe you see in the commercials.
3.Another labelling sin is listing ingredients as `approved flavoring'; `spices'; `vegetable oil'. The educated consumer wants to know what kind of flavoring, what types of spices, what type of oil is used in the product that he is consuming. Please don't insult our intelligence by hiding behind such catch-all phrases or citing `trade secrets'. God only knows what else has not been disclosed in such lists! This is why contamination by substances such as the recent melamine scare can occur. Manufactories usually have laboratories, so what the heck are the staff doing? Just mucking around and passing time?
4.At a time when most people are concerned about hypertension or elevated blood pressure, listing the sodium content is vital to enable consumers to make sensible choices. But no, sodium levels are never stated in local products. It is probably so high that you would be scared off buying it in the first place, to say nothing of eating it. Is it so difficult to analyse and list the actual sodium levels in the products? Or is it because our legislation has no provision for such practice? Sometimes, you wonder what our exalted wakil rakyat are doing in parliament.
5.Some manufacturers actually try to obsfucate or outright bluff the uninitiated. Some instant noodle packaging proudly proclaim `no msg' or monosodium glutamate. People may be misled into thinking that it is a better product but look closer at the ingredient listing and you will see disodium inosinate or disodium guanylate being declared as permitted flavor enhancers. For all we know, these substitutes may be actually worse than msg, but the local manufacturers will never tell us. Some overseas government agencies actually classify instant noodles as hazardous food and discourage its consumption.
6.The widespread use of monosodium glutamate in food products is exploited as a
shortcut in making it palatable. Msg is not needed at all if effort has been invested into the recipe or concoction. Look at imported items – how many can you find msg being listed therein as an ingredient? You would be hard put to find even one, yet the products actually tasted better. At the same time, you also wouldn't see the imported item trumpeting that it is `msg free'. There is no such need if your recipe is up to scratch.Msg is actually seen as hazardous to health in developed countries.
7.Cholesterol. A so-called reputable brand of cream crackers (locally made) listed its ingredients followed by the nutrient/mineral breakdown figures - among them were cholesterol = 0, but there was no mention of sodium at all. Listing cholesterol levels as zero is a bad joke, any school kid can tell you there is no cholesterol if you don't use ingredients of animal origin. I also saw a brand of cooking oil (palm oil) proudly declaring 'cholesterol free'. At the same time, saturated fat levels were conveniently ignored. Our intelligence is being severely insulted here. Either that or perhaps they just didn't know better. I wonder.
8.Preservatives. `No preservatives!' - Proudly proclaims a label. Hey, waddaya take us consumers for, eh? Fools, what? The labels goes on to list sugar, salt and oil among its ingredients. Come on – sugar, salt and oil are all preservatives, doesn't the manufacturer know this? If what it is really trying to say is there are no artificial preservatives in the product, then it should be more specific. It actually ends up making a fool of itself.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Shortchanged, as usual
Tread softly and carry a big calculator. Traders are always out to make you part with your money. The quest to being wise consumers is not easy, not without the gahmen looking after us. It is every man for his own, learn to be wise or perish. Malaysians always seem to get the short end of the stick every which way life goes. Perhaps the old saw that a sucker is born every minute really does ring true.
The following are scams I can see in this country:
1.Eggs- A sized eggs are not really A size in classification. I have seen A sized eggs in Singapore that look substantially bigger than those in Malaysia. Compared to these , our local A eggs are at best called C size. I wonder how this can happen as most of the eggs sold in Singapore comes from farms in Malaysia. Ah, must be the stronger currency from down south.
Are the so-called Omega rich eggs really worth the extra money? At over 50sen each,
they are are terribly expensive. What's more, they are puny in size; more like C-size
eggs. Break one into your frying pan and see what I mean. Two 'genuine' A eggs fill up a 9inch pan whereas 2 Omega eggs barely fill half of it. I understand that the orangish
yolk colour is derived from feeding the layers with carotene rich feedmeal such as
those made from oil palm waste. It is probably this vibrant yolk colour that make
consumers think they are really better than the plain yellow of ordinary eggs. Costing
more than 50sen a pop, these eggs really cost as much as 80sen for a regular A sized
ordinary egg (based on egg volume), that is a whopping 60% more.
Is it worth it? Make your choice wisely. I prefer the ordinary eggs, freshness being the more important factor.
2,Fried chicken. Chicken prices are high now, so fast food restaurants try to balance out by using smaller birds. Any sized chicken will yield 8 parts; so will a sparrow. I noticed that fried chicken parts are much bigger down south than in Malaysia- I thought there was supposed to be a specified minimum size to be used. Profiteering rears its ugly head again. Better to spend a little time and effort to fry your own chicken parts especially if you have a large family, no sense in enriching the fast food chains. By the way, the same company who holds the franchise for both Malaysia and its southern neighbouring country; serves much larger pieces in the latter place, why the discrepancy God only knows. Malaysians are such pathetic suckers that they don't know better?
3.Rice – cooked rice that is. Economy rice stalls usually sell the rice at rm1 per serving. Consider that they usually only the cheapest grade of local rice (with 10-15% broken grains) that costs at most rm2.50 a kilogram which yields at least 10 plates costing 25sen each – cooked rice must be the most profitable item in the whole menu. Just imagine- a 300% profit (on cost) margin! Economy rice is a misnomer, it ain't no longer economical – what used to be a poor man's meal has become unaffordable to a lot of people. Just don't make the mistake of ladling too much food onto your plate or you will end up paying through your nose!
This is probably why most women who tar-pau for their families will only buy cooked vegetables and meat dishes without rice, certainly cheaper to cook the rice at home. But hey, it is even cheaper by far to cook everything at home; lotsa recipes on the internet. So learn to cook, ok Honey?
4.Burgers. 'our burgers are the cheapest in the world' – trumpeted by a burger chain.
Hogwash and balderdash – just plain bullshit. Of course it is the cheapest, why shouldn't it be?. Just look at the paper thin meat patty, the small bun, the miserable slab of “cheese' – I'd be surprised if it wasn't the cheapest. Perhaps they forgot to proclaim that it is also the worst tasting burger around. Even the roadside burger stalls can often serve up a better version than this well known burger chain. Yet, the joints are often full at mealtimes – got kong thau ar? I probably eat there once a year, which I think is one time too many. I wonder how the local franchisee gets away with cutting corners to such an extent, after all the master franchisor has set standards for all its overseas operations. Well, wink & nudge – Malaysia Boleh!
5.Roti canai. Or roti paratha as it is known down south. It sells for 80sen at most mamak shops, no big deal when considering just the price itself. But it is small, mind you. I remember eating roti canai that were as big as the plate it came on, costs just 15sen apiece.. Now it is just a shadow of itself. Recently there was an article about a malay cooperative restaurant in KL selling a roti canai for only 40sen and a teh tarik for 60sen, a veritable breakfast for only rm1. The proprietor claimed he could get a 100% profit on the roti as production cost is only 20sen a piece. Just imagine the mamak shops selling the same thingy at 80sen, a 300% profit margin on cost alone! If this is not excessive profiteering, then I don't know what else to call it. A last gripe at the damnable roti canai – did you notice that they always give the same little miserable platter of kuah (gravy) whether you asked for 1,2 or 3 pcs of roti? You always have to ask for more – just don't get your noggin rapped in the process!
Shortchanged as usual, what else is new, huh?
The following are scams I can see in this country:
1.Eggs- A sized eggs are not really A size in classification. I have seen A sized eggs in Singapore that look substantially bigger than those in Malaysia. Compared to these , our local A eggs are at best called C size. I wonder how this can happen as most of the eggs sold in Singapore comes from farms in Malaysia. Ah, must be the stronger currency from down south.
Are the so-called Omega rich eggs really worth the extra money? At over 50sen each,
they are are terribly expensive. What's more, they are puny in size; more like C-size
eggs. Break one into your frying pan and see what I mean. Two 'genuine' A eggs fill up a 9inch pan whereas 2 Omega eggs barely fill half of it. I understand that the orangish
yolk colour is derived from feeding the layers with carotene rich feedmeal such as
those made from oil palm waste. It is probably this vibrant yolk colour that make
consumers think they are really better than the plain yellow of ordinary eggs. Costing
more than 50sen a pop, these eggs really cost as much as 80sen for a regular A sized
ordinary egg (based on egg volume), that is a whopping 60% more.
Is it worth it? Make your choice wisely. I prefer the ordinary eggs, freshness being the more important factor.
2,Fried chicken. Chicken prices are high now, so fast food restaurants try to balance out by using smaller birds. Any sized chicken will yield 8 parts; so will a sparrow. I noticed that fried chicken parts are much bigger down south than in Malaysia- I thought there was supposed to be a specified minimum size to be used. Profiteering rears its ugly head again. Better to spend a little time and effort to fry your own chicken parts especially if you have a large family, no sense in enriching the fast food chains. By the way, the same company who holds the franchise for both Malaysia and its southern neighbouring country; serves much larger pieces in the latter place, why the discrepancy God only knows. Malaysians are such pathetic suckers that they don't know better?
3.Rice – cooked rice that is. Economy rice stalls usually sell the rice at rm1 per serving. Consider that they usually only the cheapest grade of local rice (with 10-15% broken grains) that costs at most rm2.50 a kilogram which yields at least 10 plates costing 25sen each – cooked rice must be the most profitable item in the whole menu. Just imagine- a 300% profit (on cost) margin! Economy rice is a misnomer, it ain't no longer economical – what used to be a poor man's meal has become unaffordable to a lot of people. Just don't make the mistake of ladling too much food onto your plate or you will end up paying through your nose!
This is probably why most women who tar-pau for their families will only buy cooked vegetables and meat dishes without rice, certainly cheaper to cook the rice at home. But hey, it is even cheaper by far to cook everything at home; lotsa recipes on the internet. So learn to cook, ok Honey?
4.Burgers. 'our burgers are the cheapest in the world' – trumpeted by a burger chain.
Hogwash and balderdash – just plain bullshit. Of course it is the cheapest, why shouldn't it be?. Just look at the paper thin meat patty, the small bun, the miserable slab of “cheese' – I'd be surprised if it wasn't the cheapest. Perhaps they forgot to proclaim that it is also the worst tasting burger around. Even the roadside burger stalls can often serve up a better version than this well known burger chain. Yet, the joints are often full at mealtimes – got kong thau ar? I probably eat there once a year, which I think is one time too many. I wonder how the local franchisee gets away with cutting corners to such an extent, after all the master franchisor has set standards for all its overseas operations. Well, wink & nudge – Malaysia Boleh!
5.Roti canai. Or roti paratha as it is known down south. It sells for 80sen at most mamak shops, no big deal when considering just the price itself. But it is small, mind you. I remember eating roti canai that were as big as the plate it came on, costs just 15sen apiece.. Now it is just a shadow of itself. Recently there was an article about a malay cooperative restaurant in KL selling a roti canai for only 40sen and a teh tarik for 60sen, a veritable breakfast for only rm1. The proprietor claimed he could get a 100% profit on the roti as production cost is only 20sen a piece. Just imagine the mamak shops selling the same thingy at 80sen, a 300% profit margin on cost alone! If this is not excessive profiteering, then I don't know what else to call it. A last gripe at the damnable roti canai – did you notice that they always give the same little miserable platter of kuah (gravy) whether you asked for 1,2 or 3 pcs of roti? You always have to ask for more – just don't get your noggin rapped in the process!
Shortchanged as usual, what else is new, huh?
Monday, September 14, 2009
Mossies, I just hate em
Are you allergic or sensitive to mosquito bites? I suppose most of us are; I for one gets all itchy when I see a mossie – before it actually bites me.
So what do we do? Despite all the screening we install on windows and doors, these pesky critters seem to have the skills to penetrate almost anything. Short of armor-cladding our bodies in thick denim from top to toe, the only other alternative is to use repellents. A common type of repellent in the market is the plug in type. A small bottle of clear fluid is mated to a modular heater; the whole assembly is then plugged into a wall outlet – the heater draws the fluid up through a black wick and evaporates it. It is the evaporation and dispersion into the air of the active compound containing allethrin thats kills mossies. It certainly seems to work well, the fluid seemingly deadly to the bugs. Wonder if there is any long term harm to us humans. Avoid dengue and malaria; then come down with side effects of the chemical in the repellent. Oh well, you can't win them all.
One thing I noticed is that the repellent gets used up very fast. Whether listed as 60 or 90 day duration, it just doesn't last as long as touted – even when used less than 10 hours per night. You might use a timer to limit its action to say, 6 hours a night. However, the heater seems to pour out prodigious amounts of repellent via the black wick, probably more than necessary. I was mulling about this and finally hit upon an idea to slow it down. You need to work on the black wick that appears to be a wooden material. Just cut off the topmost 5mm of the wick – score along its circumference with a sharp blade cutter and snap it off cleanly. The logic of this is to reduce the heated part of the wick, the topmost part of the wick now reaches only half into the heater. Less heated portion of wick, less repellent is drawn up and evaporated.
Hey, waddaya know? It really works, the bottle of repellent seems to last longer now. The level of repellent remaining doesn't go down as fast as before. The device still keeps the mossies at bay. When I get to the next new bottle, I will be able to accurately gauge how much longer it lasts with this modification. Saves a little money and reduces the repellent residue we absorb – all for less than a minute's work.
So what do we do? Despite all the screening we install on windows and doors, these pesky critters seem to have the skills to penetrate almost anything. Short of armor-cladding our bodies in thick denim from top to toe, the only other alternative is to use repellents. A common type of repellent in the market is the plug in type. A small bottle of clear fluid is mated to a modular heater; the whole assembly is then plugged into a wall outlet – the heater draws the fluid up through a black wick and evaporates it. It is the evaporation and dispersion into the air of the active compound containing allethrin thats kills mossies. It certainly seems to work well, the fluid seemingly deadly to the bugs. Wonder if there is any long term harm to us humans. Avoid dengue and malaria; then come down with side effects of the chemical in the repellent. Oh well, you can't win them all.
One thing I noticed is that the repellent gets used up very fast. Whether listed as 60 or 90 day duration, it just doesn't last as long as touted – even when used less than 10 hours per night. You might use a timer to limit its action to say, 6 hours a night. However, the heater seems to pour out prodigious amounts of repellent via the black wick, probably more than necessary. I was mulling about this and finally hit upon an idea to slow it down. You need to work on the black wick that appears to be a wooden material. Just cut off the topmost 5mm of the wick – score along its circumference with a sharp blade cutter and snap it off cleanly. The logic of this is to reduce the heated part of the wick, the topmost part of the wick now reaches only half into the heater. Less heated portion of wick, less repellent is drawn up and evaporated.
Hey, waddaya know? It really works, the bottle of repellent seems to last longer now. The level of repellent remaining doesn't go down as fast as before. The device still keeps the mossies at bay. When I get to the next new bottle, I will be able to accurately gauge how much longer it lasts with this modification. Saves a little money and reduces the repellent residue we absorb – all for less than a minute's work.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Service with a smile or a scowl?
I recently bought cooked food items at a local hypermarket. The food concerned was quite tasty and reasonably priced.
As with a lot of good concepts, sometimes the potential is very much reduced by the attitudes of the staff who face the customers. I am referring to the staff who manned this food counter, especially the older Malay lady who cooked the food. Her attitude left much to be desired, in fact it bordered on the outright rude. On the first occasion when I enquired if the food were ready at around 11.30am, she brusquely replied 'lepas pukul dua belas!' - (after 12.00 pm!). Okay, so I was early – it wasn't my fault to ask. On the second occasion, I asked her if a particular dish was chicken or fish, she practically shouted “ikan!” (fish!) at me. I had to ask her as the dish was non-descript – I couldn't tell if it was chicken or fish. Was it too much to ask such a question? Was it her attitude that those who purchase such affordably priced food had no right or dignity to enquire?
I have always felt that if a person wasn't happy with the job or felt the work was beneath her, she could always quit and apply her talents elsewhere. I am sure she is not there by force. There are probably lots of people who would gladly fill her shoes and smile in the process too. So I wrote up a complaint note and prepared to email it off to the management of the hypermarket concerned. As fate would have it, my complaint couldn't get through their server – was it possible they purposely set it up to reject complaints? No complaints coming through means that everything was hunky-dory, right?
Anyway, I went there a third time, determined that it would be the last and final time I would go to that counter – the abuse wasn't worth it after all. Surprise, surprise – the same woman was at the counter, instead of glowering at me, she was actually smiling and struck up some small talk with me. I am sure she didn't get a talking to by her management as my complaint didn't get through their computer server. I came away feeling non-plussed with this about turn of attitude, even more confused about the moods of people in this world. At the same time too, I was glad my complaint didn't get through – God only knows how many dependents she has to support from this job. It wouldn't bear well with my conscience if she got sacked because of my complaint. Oh well, live and let live.
As with a lot of good concepts, sometimes the potential is very much reduced by the attitudes of the staff who face the customers. I am referring to the staff who manned this food counter, especially the older Malay lady who cooked the food. Her attitude left much to be desired, in fact it bordered on the outright rude. On the first occasion when I enquired if the food were ready at around 11.30am, she brusquely replied 'lepas pukul dua belas!' - (after 12.00 pm!). Okay, so I was early – it wasn't my fault to ask. On the second occasion, I asked her if a particular dish was chicken or fish, she practically shouted “ikan!” (fish!) at me. I had to ask her as the dish was non-descript – I couldn't tell if it was chicken or fish. Was it too much to ask such a question? Was it her attitude that those who purchase such affordably priced food had no right or dignity to enquire?
I have always felt that if a person wasn't happy with the job or felt the work was beneath her, she could always quit and apply her talents elsewhere. I am sure she is not there by force. There are probably lots of people who would gladly fill her shoes and smile in the process too. So I wrote up a complaint note and prepared to email it off to the management of the hypermarket concerned. As fate would have it, my complaint couldn't get through their server – was it possible they purposely set it up to reject complaints? No complaints coming through means that everything was hunky-dory, right?
Anyway, I went there a third time, determined that it would be the last and final time I would go to that counter – the abuse wasn't worth it after all. Surprise, surprise – the same woman was at the counter, instead of glowering at me, she was actually smiling and struck up some small talk with me. I am sure she didn't get a talking to by her management as my complaint didn't get through their computer server. I came away feeling non-plussed with this about turn of attitude, even more confused about the moods of people in this world. At the same time too, I was glad my complaint didn't get through – God only knows how many dependents she has to support from this job. It wouldn't bear well with my conscience if she got sacked because of my complaint. Oh well, live and let live.
X-rated food???
How can food be x-rated? Do they resemble various parts of the human anatomy?
Ah, I've likened them to be x-rated due to abuses inflicted unto the hapless victims by their human captors. Two of these include the stingray (ikan pari) and the ubiquitious squid or sotong. There are probably more along the line.
An acquaintance of mine was a crew member of a fishing trawler during his teenage days. He swore that he saw his fellow crew members sexually abuse the ikan pari (female only) that they landed. From that day onward, he stopped eating ikan pari – whether as ikan bakar or in asam curry; no matter how delicious they looked.
Another friend of mine said she will not eat sotong or squid outside her own home. She will only buy sotong with their heads intact – ie. attached firmly to the thorax and cook them at home. This is because she heard some horror stories about fishermen tearing off the heads of suitably sized squid, extricate the innards and then performing unmentionable acts on the thorax pod. The said abused squids were then thrown back into the pile to be sold to wholesalers.
Ugghh! What vile acts of debauchery! It is bad enough abusing the poor creatures under the guise of catching them for food; what more passing them to unknowing buyers down the road after the disgusting perversions were done.
Ah, I've likened them to be x-rated due to abuses inflicted unto the hapless victims by their human captors. Two of these include the stingray (ikan pari) and the ubiquitious squid or sotong. There are probably more along the line.
An acquaintance of mine was a crew member of a fishing trawler during his teenage days. He swore that he saw his fellow crew members sexually abuse the ikan pari (female only) that they landed. From that day onward, he stopped eating ikan pari – whether as ikan bakar or in asam curry; no matter how delicious they looked.
Another friend of mine said she will not eat sotong or squid outside her own home. She will only buy sotong with their heads intact – ie. attached firmly to the thorax and cook them at home. This is because she heard some horror stories about fishermen tearing off the heads of suitably sized squid, extricate the innards and then performing unmentionable acts on the thorax pod. The said abused squids were then thrown back into the pile to be sold to wholesalers.
Ugghh! What vile acts of debauchery! It is bad enough abusing the poor creatures under the guise of catching them for food; what more passing them to unknowing buyers down the road after the disgusting perversions were done.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Buy local II
This is an expansion on the preceding post about shunning local products. I wrote this on Campbell Malaysia's online feedback form.:
I recently bought a can of Campbell's Tomato soup, proudly made in Malaysia by Campbell Cheong Chan's factory. It turned out to be a real let-down.
I have been consuming Campbell's condensed soups since childhood. In the good old days, they were all imported. And they were all of good quality, especially the chunky varieties.
When Campbell announced a few years ago that it was acquiring the Malaysian plant of Cheong Chan with the aim of making the canned soups locally. I told my friends - “I think we had better switch to Heinz soups or learn how to make our own blended soups.
I bet the quality sure suffers as is the case with all locally produced foodstuffs.'
Sure enough, I was right. The above can of Tomato soup is testimony of my assertion that locally made products are just not up to the mark. Where the Campbell Tomato soup I was used to was a creamy tomatoey colour and consistency, the locally made one looked like thin tomato ketchup in color and consistency. Please don't try to give me any ballyhoo about catering to local tastes, etc. Eating tomato soup is an acquired taste for Malaysians, nothing local about it - nice try though. The can of soup when made according to directions tasted just like what we can make from a bottle of tomato ketchup, and more cheaply at that.
I'll bet ol' Joe Campbell would turn in bis grave if he knew what you chaps are doing to his brand of soups.
Believe me, I am not ever buying any Campbell canned soups again. The quality and high costs make it an insult to my intelligence. Even my own version of Tomato soup made from fresh tomatoes tasted much better than your canned soup. I hate to be insulted and made to pay for shoddy quality. Campbell soup? Never again.
AND, THIS WAS THEIR REPLY :
Dear J.
Re: Feedback on Campbell's Tomato Soup
Thank you for your feedback regarding Campbell's Tomato Soup. We are sorry that you didn't enjoy our soup as much as you have hoped.
We work hard to make sure we meet our consumer expectations and provide them with the quality and taste they have come to expect of our products. For example, we continuously talk to consumers to seek their feedback on our existing product range, for opportunities to further improve our products and gather concepts for new ideas,. Hence, whilst we are disappointed that you dislike this product we very much appreciate your feedback.
Thank you again for taking the time to get in touch with us. Campbell's Soups values consumer feedback that enable us to continually grow.
Regards,
Campbell's Soup Customer Service
- There you have it.
Alright, where's the recipe book for those good old blended soups?
I recently bought a can of Campbell's Tomato soup, proudly made in Malaysia by Campbell Cheong Chan's factory. It turned out to be a real let-down.
I have been consuming Campbell's condensed soups since childhood. In the good old days, they were all imported. And they were all of good quality, especially the chunky varieties.
When Campbell announced a few years ago that it was acquiring the Malaysian plant of Cheong Chan with the aim of making the canned soups locally. I told my friends - “I think we had better switch to Heinz soups or learn how to make our own blended soups.
I bet the quality sure suffers as is the case with all locally produced foodstuffs.'
Sure enough, I was right. The above can of Tomato soup is testimony of my assertion that locally made products are just not up to the mark. Where the Campbell Tomato soup I was used to was a creamy tomatoey colour and consistency, the locally made one looked like thin tomato ketchup in color and consistency. Please don't try to give me any ballyhoo about catering to local tastes, etc. Eating tomato soup is an acquired taste for Malaysians, nothing local about it - nice try though. The can of soup when made according to directions tasted just like what we can make from a bottle of tomato ketchup, and more cheaply at that.
I'll bet ol' Joe Campbell would turn in bis grave if he knew what you chaps are doing to his brand of soups.
Believe me, I am not ever buying any Campbell canned soups again. The quality and high costs make it an insult to my intelligence. Even my own version of Tomato soup made from fresh tomatoes tasted much better than your canned soup. I hate to be insulted and made to pay for shoddy quality. Campbell soup? Never again.
AND, THIS WAS THEIR REPLY :
Dear J.
Re: Feedback on Campbell's Tomato Soup
Thank you for your feedback regarding Campbell's Tomato Soup. We are sorry that you didn't enjoy our soup as much as you have hoped.
We work hard to make sure we meet our consumer expectations and provide them with the quality and taste they have come to expect of our products. For example, we continuously talk to consumers to seek their feedback on our existing product range, for opportunities to further improve our products and gather concepts for new ideas,. Hence, whilst we are disappointed that you dislike this product we very much appreciate your feedback.
Thank you again for taking the time to get in touch with us. Campbell's Soups values consumer feedback that enable us to continually grow.
Regards,
Campbell's Soup Customer Service
- There you have it.
Alright, where's the recipe book for those good old blended soups?
Monday, June 22, 2009
Buy local, be patriotic, blah, blah
Buy locally made products? Not likely!
It is all very well to exhort one and all to buy locally made products – ostensibly to save foreign exchange and support the local manufacturers. That may well be true but where does this leave the individual consumer?
Let me say this – he is left holding the short end of the stick; as usual. In short, he's being
conned again.
No need to look far and wide. A few examples are housing where we pay through our noses for mediocre quality houses that are grossly overpriced vis-a vis earnings capacity & potential. The national cars are overpriced which brings a cascading effect of inflating prices of foreign cars to a level where we pay some o9f the highest prices for cars in the world.
Well, we buy a house and a car once in a while but we need to eat everyday, don't we? Food, yes glorious food in all its forms. Local fare is blessed with a plethora of flavours and styles, enough to please all but the most fastidious of palates. It is the manufactured and packaged food that I am driving at here, be it biscuits, confectionery like chocs, noodles, etc.
Some of the sins of local manufacturers are :
1.Concocting names that are nothing but a jack-off of an imported brand. Imitation is not the best form of flattery here, it jusy shows that you are devoid of ideas amd inspiration.
2.Packaging and get-ups that brainlessly and shamelessly simulate that of established brands. I have always felt that the worst offence in this direction is the veritable ketchup and chilli sauce bottle. The guy who originally designed the narrow necked bottle is a heckuva dumbass – it is so difficult to pour from it. How do you expect people to consume more if they can't pour fast enough? A wide necked bottle should be used instead. Case of the blind leading the blind. Haven't they heard of Aji-no-moto's success in ramping up sales simply by making bigger holes in the bottle stopper that allowed more flavor enhancer to be dispensed each time?
3.Weights and volumes are so inconspicious as to be virtually invisible. The print is in such small size and non-contrasting colors that you need a magnifying glass to decipher it. The reason is make a would-be buyer unable to compare weight/volume against prices. Isn't it devious and despicable all at the same time? It is a phenomenon affecting local products only, look around you. Imported products have their weight and grammage conspicously located on the package, not hidden in some little nook as in the local item. The packaging of local stuff will most often than not be flamboyant and wasteful. It is only when you weigh it in your hand that you realise that you are being taken for a ride. Shortchanged, that's what it is. Quick, put it down and look for something else.
4.Quality and pricing that are not commensurate when compared to imported products. Imported products are not really that expensive considering their better quality, such examples as chocolates and noodles; the local versions are practically inedible – their only redeeming feature being 'cheaper' than corresponding foreign items; helped substantially by import tariffs. Look at the ingredient list and see the difference. Instead of modified palm fat and dried milk powder, read real cocoa butter and full cream milk in imported chocs. Similarly, see how what goes into flavouring packs of imported noodles- you see what I mean? Local noodles are just not worth the money, just a con job to make us part with our money. Even house brands of hypermarkets like Tesco (imported from UK) are better than locally made products, very often cheaper too. Which makes me suspect that local manufacturers are making super profits and duping the consumers at the same time. Time to stop being fools, eh?
5.Products that become worse when locally made. Case in point being Campbell's canned soups, now made in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Just as I predicted, quality deteriorated, I have sworn off Campbell soup forever. Insult to injury, they are actually much more expensive locally made even when you factored in increased costs and exchange rates. What happened? Are we really such pathetic suckers?
I am not being unpatriotic in urging against consuming local products. As consumers, we are only concerned with getting value for our money, with quality to boot. If imported products are worthwhile buying bearing in mind quality and costs, then so be it. Who cares if local manufacturers cannot compete and survive? We are not fools. Time to stop the duping, let's wise up. It is the only way local manufacturers will buck up and give us value for money. Good luck to them. Me? I will always give local products a miss and opt for the imported item. No snobbery involved, just plain common cents (pun intended). Too bad for the local manufacturers, but that's the way it is.
It is all very well to exhort one and all to buy locally made products – ostensibly to save foreign exchange and support the local manufacturers. That may well be true but where does this leave the individual consumer?
Let me say this – he is left holding the short end of the stick; as usual. In short, he's being
conned again.
No need to look far and wide. A few examples are housing where we pay through our noses for mediocre quality houses that are grossly overpriced vis-a vis earnings capacity & potential. The national cars are overpriced which brings a cascading effect of inflating prices of foreign cars to a level where we pay some o9f the highest prices for cars in the world.
Well, we buy a house and a car once in a while but we need to eat everyday, don't we? Food, yes glorious food in all its forms. Local fare is blessed with a plethora of flavours and styles, enough to please all but the most fastidious of palates. It is the manufactured and packaged food that I am driving at here, be it biscuits, confectionery like chocs, noodles, etc.
Some of the sins of local manufacturers are :
1.Concocting names that are nothing but a jack-off of an imported brand. Imitation is not the best form of flattery here, it jusy shows that you are devoid of ideas amd inspiration.
2.Packaging and get-ups that brainlessly and shamelessly simulate that of established brands. I have always felt that the worst offence in this direction is the veritable ketchup and chilli sauce bottle. The guy who originally designed the narrow necked bottle is a heckuva dumbass – it is so difficult to pour from it. How do you expect people to consume more if they can't pour fast enough? A wide necked bottle should be used instead. Case of the blind leading the blind. Haven't they heard of Aji-no-moto's success in ramping up sales simply by making bigger holes in the bottle stopper that allowed more flavor enhancer to be dispensed each time?
3.Weights and volumes are so inconspicious as to be virtually invisible. The print is in such small size and non-contrasting colors that you need a magnifying glass to decipher it. The reason is make a would-be buyer unable to compare weight/volume against prices. Isn't it devious and despicable all at the same time? It is a phenomenon affecting local products only, look around you. Imported products have their weight and grammage conspicously located on the package, not hidden in some little nook as in the local item. The packaging of local stuff will most often than not be flamboyant and wasteful. It is only when you weigh it in your hand that you realise that you are being taken for a ride. Shortchanged, that's what it is. Quick, put it down and look for something else.
4.Quality and pricing that are not commensurate when compared to imported products. Imported products are not really that expensive considering their better quality, such examples as chocolates and noodles; the local versions are practically inedible – their only redeeming feature being 'cheaper' than corresponding foreign items; helped substantially by import tariffs. Look at the ingredient list and see the difference. Instead of modified palm fat and dried milk powder, read real cocoa butter and full cream milk in imported chocs. Similarly, see how what goes into flavouring packs of imported noodles- you see what I mean? Local noodles are just not worth the money, just a con job to make us part with our money. Even house brands of hypermarkets like Tesco (imported from UK) are better than locally made products, very often cheaper too. Which makes me suspect that local manufacturers are making super profits and duping the consumers at the same time. Time to stop being fools, eh?
5.Products that become worse when locally made. Case in point being Campbell's canned soups, now made in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Just as I predicted, quality deteriorated, I have sworn off Campbell soup forever. Insult to injury, they are actually much more expensive locally made even when you factored in increased costs and exchange rates. What happened? Are we really such pathetic suckers?
I am not being unpatriotic in urging against consuming local products. As consumers, we are only concerned with getting value for our money, with quality to boot. If imported products are worthwhile buying bearing in mind quality and costs, then so be it. Who cares if local manufacturers cannot compete and survive? We are not fools. Time to stop the duping, let's wise up. It is the only way local manufacturers will buck up and give us value for money. Good luck to them. Me? I will always give local products a miss and opt for the imported item. No snobbery involved, just plain common cents (pun intended). Too bad for the local manufacturers, but that's the way it is.
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