As the weather turns colder, "winter tonics" has become a hot topic, especially for middle-aged and elderly people, who should pay more attention to their own health. Recently, the Consumer Protection Commission of Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, has received multiple complaints about health food. The main reasons for the complaints are: the actual effect of purchased health food after consumption is inconsistent with the merchant's promotion, difficulty in protecting rights after problems occur with online shopping for health food, and the belief that health food has therapeutic effects that may cause discomfort after use.

The Ningbo Consumer Protection Commission received a call from Mr. Wang, a consumer, stating that he has approximately 1600 points in an online shopping mall that cannot be used or withdrawn. At first, he purchased health foods related to peptides and turmeric from a health food online store through the introduction of the local health association president. The president said that purchasing products would be rewarded with points, and according to the redemption rules, points could be used to purchase products or withdrawn. However, now the points cannot be redeemed, and contacting the merchant has been blocked. He cannot contact the health association president.

The original intention of spending money on health food is to promote health and wellness, but it not only causes economic losses, but also brings a series of troubles, and even delays the condition. In response, the Consumer Protection Commission of Ningbo City issued a consumer warning, reminding consumers to be vigilant and make scientific choices when purchasing health food, and to pay attention to three "recognitions" and three "precautions".

Recognize the health benefits of health foods. Health food is food, not medicine, and cannot replace medication for treating diseases. It has specific health benefits and is targeted to a certain extent, not suitable for everyone. Do not believe in the efficacy of health food advertised and promised. Health products are not traditional "winter tonics" in the sense of cream formulas. It is best to practice "winter tonics" under the guidance of a doctor.

Recognize the identification marks of health food. When consumers choose health food, they should identify the "blue hat" logo and registration/filing number on the product packaging, and carefully read the labels and instructions of the health food. It is necessary to scientifically select health foods based on their health functions, suitable and unsuitable populations, and consume them according to the requirements of the labels and instructions. Blindly purchasing and using them should be avoided. Information on health food products can be found on the website of the State Administration for Market Regulation.

Identify the purchasing channels for health food. Offline purchases of health food should be made at legal and legitimate stores. The store selling health food should obtain a food business license, and its business scope should indicate the sale of health food. After purchase, the shopping voucher should be kept safe. Online purchase of health food should be done through legitimate e-commerce platforms, carefully checking their food business license, health food registration certificate or filing certificate information, and not trusting unknown sources such as WeChat, Moments, WeChat groups, mini programs, etc. Overseas purchasing or cross-border purchasing of health food should pay attention to the selection risks and carefully read the risk notification on e-commerce platforms.

From the situation reflected in the complaints, there are mainly several types of consumption traps and tricks that consumers should focus on preventing.

Prevent exaggerating the effects of health and wellness. Some health and wellness service providers induce elderly people to make large deposits by exaggerating the effectiveness of their services and claiming that they can treat various diseases, but the actual services have no promotional effect.

Prevent impersonating medical experts to sell health food. Some telemarketers take advantage of the urgent medical needs of elderly people and pretend to be medical experts to sell "miracle drugs" such as "miracle drugs" and "life-saving drugs" to them. However, the so-called "miracle drugs" actually have no therapeutic effect and are only ordinary health foods. Not only did it defraud the elderly of their money, but it also delayed treatment time.

Prevent the sale of "low-quality" products under the banner of "high-tech". Some operators take advantage of the elderly's pursuit of health and longevity psychology, under the banner of "high technology", falsely claiming that ordinary products have health and other functions to induce elderly people to purchase, such as using new technological concepts such as "quantum" in daily necessities to deceive elderly people's money.

In addition, the Ningbo Consumer Protection Commission reminds middle-aged and elderly consumers to learn more about health related knowledge and consumer rights protection knowledge, maintain a balanced diet, maintain a good mentality and moderate exercise, and not overly rely on health food; When encountering problems, listen to the opinions of family members. If you have doubts about the quality and safety of the purchased health food, you can report to the local market supervision department or consumer protection commission for complaint and reporting.