How to distinguish poor quality Tet gift baskets when shopping

As the Lunar New Year of Giap Thin approaches, gift baskets and candies are very diverse and abundant in traditional stores and markets. However, some retailers take advantage of consumer demand to launch many types of cheap, poor quality candies and Tet foods, affecting the rights and health of buyers.

Mr. Dang Khoa, who has many years of experience in the food and candy business, shares some experiences to help users distinguish between real and fake candy and make reasonable purchasing choices during Tet.

Distinguish brand names

According to Mr. Khoa, currently on the market, to imitate famous brands without violating copyright laws, counterfeit products will have names that are 1-2 letters different from the real candy, and sound similar.

For example, the genuine cake product on the market is called Cosy, while the fake cake is called “Gosy” or “Cosi”; the real cake is called Danisa, while the fake cake is called “Camisa”; the real cake is called Tipo, while the fake cake is called “Tippo”... In addition, the name of the fake brand can be pronounced the same as the real brand such as “Choco-Pie” and “Choco Pai”, “Custas” and “Custard” or “Alpenliebe” and “Annabella”...

“Therefore, before buying any product, consumers should carefully observe the brand name. If you see something strange, search the media or Google to check if the brand name is correct,” said Mr. Khoa.

Pay attention to packaging and packing

Packaging is one of the important factors to distinguish genuine, fake and counterfeit goods. However, nowadays, fake and counterfeit products have a high level of completion similar to genuine products, but there are still some points that consumers can detect.

For genuine products, the packaging of genuine products is often beautifully designed, eye-catching, sharp, with full information about the product such as cake ingredients, energy content, manufacturing unit, expiration date... specifically. On the contrary, the packaging of fake, counterfeit, and poor quality products often has a simple design, faint printing, a general address of the manufacturing facility, and some do not even have an expiration date.

In addition, the easiest way to confirm the quality of confectionery products is the appearance and the inside because the fake confectionery boxes are very sketchy. For example, the genuine Danisa cake box has many different types inside, each type is placed in a separate compartment with an oil-absorbing paper cover, while the fake Danisa cake has only one type of cake inside, arranged chaotically on a tray.

Check anti-counterfeit stamps

Anti-counterfeit stamps are a measure to protect consumer rights, helping consumers easily distinguish genuine, fake, and counterfeit goods. "Scammers" can fake anti-counterfeit stamps to deceive consumers. However, we can still recognize them in a number of ways.

First, users can use an ultraviolet lamp to check, with genuine anti-counterfeit stamps, full business information as well as the security symbol of the Ministry of Public Security will be displayed. On the contrary, with "fake" anti-counterfeit stamps, the stamp surface will not display this information. In addition, users can observe from many different angles because genuine stamps now have 7-color reflective barcodes, while fake stamps do not.

Next, consumers can access the manufacturer's website, enter the code and barcode of the anti-counterfeit stamp to confirm. Current products all have barcodes and QR codes, so it is easy to check the brand and product information on the market by using smartphone applications such as iCheck, Barcode Viet...

Check the quality of the cake

In addition to the above methods, directly checking the product quality is the simplest and most effective way to confirm the authenticity of confectionery products.

Candy and jams from poor quality production facilities often have bright, flashy colors, often due to the use of industrial color additives to deceive consumers. In addition, the scent or taste of fake candy and imitations will be of low quality, crumbly, powdery and the taste cannot be exactly the same as real candy and jam. Although they both create a sour and sweet taste, when produced using unlicensed ingredients, there is still a risk of affecting health as usual.

According to the Ministry of Health, brightly colored candies are made from industrial colors containing heavy metals, which seriously affect the health of consumers. In addition, due to the uncontrolled production process and lack of hygiene, fake candies are at high risk of being contaminated with heavy metals such as aluminum, lead, as well as bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli and many other harmful microorganisms, which threaten the health of consumers.

Buy from reputable establishments

In addition to checking the authenticity of confectionery products during Tet, Mr. Khoa also noted that consumers can find a simpler solution, which is to buy from reputable units and stores.

Currently, there are countless small traders and businesses selling confectionery products during Tet to serve people's shopping. Some small traders and grocery stores, in order to make a profit, often produce cheap products that appeal to the psychology of buyers. For large businesses, they often provide quality, safe products with clear origins. Although the price is a bit higher than fake products, in return, the listed price is clear, without being ripped off or forced to pay...

Some reputable supermarkets and confectionery business systems for Tet that consumers can refer to are large supermarket systems including WinMart, Lotte, BigC, AeonMall... These places often provide a variety of confectionery, with clear origins, strictly inspected for quality. In addition, long-standing, reputable confectionery stores are also a choice worth considering.