Consumers International : Consumer Reports hails big consumer wins

Consumer Reports hails big consumer wins

20 Jan 2014

CI Member Consumer Reports has had another successful year with major victories in the areas of food, product safety and much more.

Consumer Reports reviews and rates a massive range of products using in-house testing labs, to produce results which are published online and in a magazine. It also provides advice to consumers and helps to campaign for necessary changes in laws and regulations. 

In an email to Consumer Reports subscribers, CI President and Consumer Reports CEO Jim Guest said:  "As head of Consumer Reports, I'm fortunate to have a role in advocating for changes, raising awareness about much-needed reforms and enjoying pro-consumer victories.

"I'm happy to report that there are products and services on the market today that are safer and more closely living up to consumers' expectations than they were a year ago."

Successes include:

• The Food and Drug Administration is now limiting the amount of arsenic in apple juice--an action that will make all our children and grandchildren safer.  Consumer Reports' coverage of arsenic in juice and rice earned us a finalist nomination for the National Magazine Award, the Oscars of the publishing world.    
• The real impact of the Affordable Care Act went into effect, with millions of additional customers entitled to coverage, including those who could not get insurance in the past due to a pre-existing condition. Meanwhile, in 2013 insurers had to give back $500 million to 8.5 million Americans because they spent too much of the premiums from customers on things like advertising and administrative overhead instead of medical services. Consumer Reports has been answering consumers' questions about the new insurance law through various channels and implemented tools like our HealthLawHelper to help consumers navigate the new "exchanges".
• Consumer Reports joined other groups in beating back attempts to continue the practice of using a particular antibiotic to treat fire blight in apple and pear production. The decision was a victory for the organic standard and a boost to preserving the effectiveness of antibiotics in humans, a critical issue for many of us.

Mr Guest added: "We tested and rated more than 5,000 products at our labs in Yonkers and our auto test track in Connecticut--providing our findings and buying advice to the 3.2 million subscribers to our website, ConsumerReports.org, to the nearly 4 million subscribers to CONSUMER REPORTS magazine, and through our ShopSmart magazine, special publications, and other outlets.

"We advocated for pro-consumer public policies and marketplace changes at the federal level and in the majority of states. For more information, take a look at our Annual Report for 2013 or feel free to send me an email with any questions or feedback."

"Of course many more challenges lie ahead, and we at Consumer Reports look forward to the prospect of working with you in 2014 on initiatives to make the marketplace fairer, safer, and more affordable for all consumers."