Dear fellow food consumers,

Have you been wondering, where are our consumer rights? 

How many of you out there often experienced taking home from your grocery stores moldy berries, stale meat and eggs, etc.? Have you also been facing the same problem as I do? Are you also victims of situations such as this one I am addressing to you now? You are not alone! Let's stand up and speak up. Suffer silently no more. Silence is consent!

We all are clearly aware that food, water and air is inevitably indispensable in sustaining our lives. That is a simple fact beyond doubt, except for non-living things. Even plants and insects need all these life-sustaining and promoting factors to stay alive.

Because of that, most of us human beings will either need to cook at home or eat out, according to our needs and as situations so called for. And, for some of us who prefer to cook and eat at home, going to supermarkets to buy our raw food supplies as our cooking materials is definitely indispensable, mainly because most of us do not grow our own food for one reason or another.

As such, the only means of food supplies would be to buy from supermarkets or farmers' market of some sort. This is the factor that makes us easy victims to "fresh produce" vendors that supposed to sell acceptable standard food supplies to us consumers. But in sad reality, that's not the case! Grocery food sources such as supermarkets, mini marts and farmers' markets that sell rotten foods are getting more and more rampant, nowadays. They know that no matter what, customers will have no choice but to "keep coming back" to buy from them as, wherever and whoever we buy from, it's going to be the same problem almost everywhere. Sometimes, due to convenience of distance we frequent a certain vendor. Dollars keep pouring into their cash registers and the incessant ringing of the cash registers have made vendors forget that they have to provide customers the quality commensurate the dollars paid by customers to the prices the vendors chose to price. This caused an imbalance between the pricing and the quality they expect us as consumers to pay them.

Huge chunk of our income goes to food, whether we eat out or eat home-cooked. Vendors are increasing the prices on food, but the quality has gone from bad to worse instead, draining away our hard earned money as we, more than often are forced to throw away food items or so-called "fresh produce" we painstaking take our time, effort and money to go and buy it from supermarkets and grocery stores. We often end up buying "iridescent" beef that gives out a rainbow-like look, with greenish patches, or supermarket pre-packed stale fish fillet, etc. unknowingly, only to realize it when we are about to cook it. So often, even a good condition refrigerator still fails to keep the "fresh produce" more than 3 days, and then straight into the rubbish can it goes!

The most frustrating thing, is, they, the vendors always get away with it due to most of we consumers either have no idea how to go about, can't write or have no time to pen a complain letter to bring to awareness our terrible experiences to the authorities.

Even eating out in restaurants is not spared from such bad experiences as well, such as eating fried chicken cooked using spoiled mushy chicken parts or stale fishy seafood.

More and more restaurants have no qualms selling rotten foods, masked with lots of seasonings such as mono-sodium glutamate (MSG) and strong tasting sauces, to helpless customers like you and I who are reliant on eating out after a hard day's work.

We need to speak up! It's time! We, consumers should have the consumers' right and deserve the quality matching the food prices the vendors set. When we buy food, the prices are subjected to the vendors' control and there is no bargaining in anyway. Why can't we get the quality to the high prices set by the vendors? They ask for more, but give us less than the money we pay. Worse still, we get rock-bottom quality, stale and moldy food.

We have been ripped off and yet must endure - exchanging our money for foods unfit to be eaten! Should we continue to endure this kind of unethical and wicked practices, and still keep quiet? Should we continue to suffer silently and let the unscrupulous vendors have their way??

To make matter worse, when we feedback to their staff, we often get snapped back. Just an evening, 11th April 2019, at a branch of a well-known supermarket chain closer to our home, namely the S___t Farmers Market, one of our used-to-be favorite grocery store which my husband and I frequented for years. That evening, one of its staff scolded us for checking the berries content in the packing box. Instead of finding out why the need to inspect their fruit packages, a male staff scolded me. I told him that that's because we have been experiencing bringing home stale berries from their store, and other brand stores as well. You know what? That guy told us off! He said, "Then, don't buy!" Had they check and inspect their food stuffs frequently, would this situation have happened?

Instead of taking heed and making improvement in their supply quality, they quarreled and argued with us, trying to silence us. Something needs to be done to stop this. We, consumers, our money does not come easy. We slog and sweat to earn the hard earned money to put food on the table for our family!

How can they ignore the fact that when customers resort to checking the package content, it is really an indication that something is very wrong with the items they are selling? It is a clear sign of customer act of distrust! Both to and fro, our time, effort, fuel, and money, are wasted because of needing to return spoiled food items only to find out upon arriving at home. After all the trouble, losing the use of that food item concerned, and only getting back just the purchase value with producing of the receipt. That is, altogether,a huge loss to us and, moreover, it is rather punishing.

Aside from the money issue, we and our loved ones' health are also at stake. We may end up with food-poisoning, and other implications on our health will also result over a period of time, if not immediately.

Enough is enough! Join me to speak up against irresponsible food vendors. Do not suffer silently! Do not continue to be a victim of rip-off!

We deserve better, for the price we pay!
Do not continue to allow vendors to punish us for supporting their business!

Be part of this voice and sign this petition to fight for this freedom. Make our voice heard as loudly as possible. Consumers must win!

Thank you.

Note: the snapshot of a box of moldy blackberries is just one of so many instances. It was purchased on the evening of 13 April 2019 from our used-to-be favorite supermarket chain. Now, how appealing is that?
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Suggested Remedies:

*Hire mystery buyers to scout grocery stores to specially purchase stale and outdated products, and then bring them back to the department in  charge of food standard and safety. And then, take snapshots of the questionable items along with the receipts, followed by issuing of summons and impose fines on the errant stores.

**Frequent surprise visits to all grocery stores and inspection on all the food items displayed on the "fresh produce" shelves and out-dated pre-packed food. Impose demerit system. Impose A, B, C, D, E grading system.Impose hefty fines and issue warnings to errant vendors. Punish unrepentant vendors with laws and regulations as deem fit. Shut down repeat offenders.

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I started this petition because...

I am representing the one voice of many frustrated consumers.

Like, many out there, I am one of such sick and tired of buying home food fit for the rubbish bin!

Like many out there, I want our voice heard.

Like many out there, I turned from being a trusting regular customer of a handful of grocery stores to a distrusting one. We can no longer trust even those grocery stores we have been patronizing for years.

Like many out there, I have been forced to throw away "fresh produce" bought from different supermarkets and that it has become a financial strain - involuntarily buying and bringing home food not fit to be eaten.

Like many out there, I no longer know where to get quality, real-fresh produce. Even buying from the so-called "farmers' markets" is no assurance.

Like many out there, many times I have brought these deficiencies to the supermarkets' attention, but ignored.

Like many out there, tried talking to the vendors instead received unappreciated and disrespected responses, and even worse still, scolded!

Like many out there, my patience is up.

Like may out there, I want a solution and a change. 

Like many out there.....Enough is enough!