Be a Smart Online Shopper
If you cannot view this email, you may browse the web version
如欲瀏覽中文版本請按此
|
|
| Newsletter no.: NFD/G/16/04/74 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Chemlab HK Newsletter Highlight –
Be a Smart Online Shopper
|
|
|
|
|
| Dear [FIRSTNAME], |
|
Online shopping is not popular in Hong Kong in the past 10 years, but it is no longer new to us now. Thanks for the development of internet and smart phone, with their popularity, most of us has experienced online shopping and some people even make it as a habit. Although it is so convenient to purchase any kind of products, from household goods to sophisticated analytical instruments on the net by only one click, there are several drawbacks that we must stay vigilant to prevent financial loss.
When purchasing online, we always refer to the product information as well as its photos. Thus, a gorgeous picture will definitely motivate our shopping decision. However, the product you received may not be the same as what you have seen from the picture, or even completely different from your order. It is like putting the cart before the horse as the goods returning procedures are always time-consuming or may subject to extra charges. To prevent this situation, more attention is required during online shopping. Also, price comparison between shops, user comments or shop rating provided by websites are all helpful when choosing reliable online shops. When you find the price of the goods unreasonably low, you are then not recommended to purchase the goods from that shop as you may face higher risk of receiving fake goods.
On the other hand, food online shopping becomes more and more popular in Hong Kong as it saves a lot of time. Upon purchasing, the main selection criteria are usually the place of origin and the price of the product, whereas food safety is seldom considered. The convenience of online shopping makes consumers fall into carless decision that they may have insufficient considerations before buying. In August 2015, a group of people were suffered from food poisoning after consuming a type of sandwiches imported from Taiwan. After intensive investigation, group D Salmonella was identified to be the cause of food poisoning this time. These poisoned sandwiches can be purchased from online shops which exposes the food safety risk exists during online shopping. Storage condition of food is critical to food safety as bacteria can multiply rapidly when food is not stored properly. Chilled foods should be stored at below 4℃and frozen food should be stored at below -18℃so as to reduce bacterial growth for the sake of food safety. In order to control the microbial growth, some foods, like sashimi and dessert that do not require cooking before consumption, are with higher risk and its temperature control will then be stricter. As most online shops do not have physical store address, consumers as well as government authority are unable to examine their storage environment and also their food quality in order to ensure food safety. Therefore, food safety risk is higher in online shopping rather than traditional shopping.
To conclude, online shopping is very convenient and saves time. However, the quality of the goods may in doubt. In addition, food safety problems are raised along with the popularity of online food purchasing, especially, on the high-risk foods. This makes food safety task more difficult to safeguard consumers’ health. Therefore it is highly recommended that consumers shall avoid purchasing high-risk food from an online shop. If you really need to do so, you should then go to reliable online shops so as to reduce the risk of food poisoning.
For more details on the HK regulation on online shopping, please follow our next episode of Newsletter Highlight.
Reference links:
http://www.cfs.gov.hk/tc_chi/whatsnew/whatsnew_fst/whatsnew_fst_Online_Shopping_of_High_risk_Foods.html
http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201508/10/P201508100553.htm
http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20150831/00176_065.html
|
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
to get more information about food safety and our testing services. |
|
| Thanks for choosing US |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Chemical Laboratory or CHEMLAB in short, is a member of the KAM Holdings Group of Companies - a group specializing in many aspects of scientific and technological services in this part of the world. To know more about us, please click here or visit www.chemlabgroup.com. |
|
|
May Leung
Business Development and Quality Manager
Tel：(852) 2606 7178 Mob：(852) 9106 6761
Fax：(852) 2310 2990 Email : may.leung@chemlab.hk
Address: Room 2001-2, 20/F, Trendy Centre, 682-684 Castle Peak Road, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You receive this email because you have subscribed our newsletters.
To assure our messages be delivered in your inbox, add us to your address book.
|
Disclaimer: The information contained is educational and does not replace any legal requirements or applicable
regulations. It is not intended to constitute consulting or professional advice. Chemlab HK does not warrant that
it will be error-free or will meet any particular criteria of performance or quality.
Do not quote or refer any information herein without Chemlab HK’s prior written consent.
|
Forward to friends l Contact Us l Unsubscribe
Copyright Chemical Laboratory (HK). All Rights Reserved. |
|
|
|