Minister calls on consumers to take heed
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Contact: Claudia Monlouis
Monday, March 16, 2009 – Minister for Consumer Affairs Honourable Tessa Mangal has backed the international theme for World Consumer Rights Day. She noted that the health of young people, specifically children and young adults are indeed at risk in Saint Lucia. This year's theme is ‘Stop the marketing of unhealthy food to children”.
Minister Mangal said consumers represent the largest economic sector, consisting both of today’s human resource and the human resource of the future.
‘We thought that it was opportune this year for us to concentrate our efforts more specifically on the children because we consume a lot of foods that are high in salt, as well as in sugar. We need to observe what the children consistently buy, including juices which are very sweet and also the junk food. So we are appealing to parents, guardians to have to a look at what we are encouraging the children to use, and help the children develop those healthy eating habits now, so that will inform their choices later on in life, to ensure that we actually look after the health of the nation,” said the minister.
Consumer Rights Day, observed annually on March 15, is also a time for promoting the basic rights of all consumers, by demanding that those rights are respected and protected, by highlighting the market abuses and social injustices which undermine them. |
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