Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term - Senior Secondary School 2

SUBJECT: FOOD AND NUTRITION

CLASS:  SS 2

DATE:

TERM: 2nd TERM

 
WEEK 9 AND 10.

TOPIC: CONSUMER EDUCATION

CONTENTS

1. Definition of consumer education.
2. principle of consumer education 
3. importance of consumer education
4. Consumer agents, government agencies & regulation
5. Community programmes

DEFINITION OF CONSUMER EDUCATION 

Consumer education can be defined as a process of helping individuals to become informed consumer. This is accomplished through enabling necessary knowledge, skills and altitude they require in order to know their rights as consumers, discern or judge information and consume intelligently within their means or available resources.

Consumer education is aimed at educating the public about various laws that govern the manufacture and sales of foods, the standards that manufacture foods must comply with and must be followed in all the stages of food handling until its final consumption.

IMPORTANCE OF CONSUMER EDUCATION 

Consumer Education has the following importance

1. it enables the consumer to know his  or her rights 
2.  it enables the consumer to assess consumer information.

So that he or she can have information about the goods and services he or she is buying e.g. expiring dates weights, brand names etc. 

1. it enables the consumer to buy the goods and services needed.
2. it enables the consumer to obtain the value for his money.
3. it enables the consumer to eliminate waste in consumption.
4. it can safeguard consumers from dangerous and inferior goods and services and other unfair selling practices 

PRINCIPLES OF CONSUMER EDUCATION

The following principles can help to achieve intelligent consumption of goods and services.

1. compare values. Do not  be one store shopper rather compare prices in different stores and buy where items  are cheaper.
2. Buy on the basis of intended use.
3. Study the label or information on the article.
4. Do not over pay for convenience 
5. Buy bulk quantities or large sizes.
6. Buy and make use of food in season.
7. Grasp the buying opportunity know your needs in advance  and watch for buying opportunities.
8. Do not buy on credit. Buying on credit results in the unnoticed accumulation of financial charges.

CONSUMER AGENT

The production of goods and services is not complete until they get to the final consumer. The distribution of goods among consumers is done by people who are referred to as distributors in a market.

There are two classes of distributors.

1. Wholesalers: they buy goods from manufacturers and sell them to retailers, they buy in bulk.
2. Retailers: retailers buy in small quantities from wholesaler and sell to consumers.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND REGULATION

In Nigeria there are bodies and regulations which set standards for manufactured goods and services, examine commodities put on sale that are adequately labeled so that the consumer knows exactly what he or she is buying.

These agencies are;

1. (SON) The Standards organization of Nigeria which was formed in 1976 to carry out the followings.
   1. to standardize methods and products of industries in the country.
   2. To ensure that manufacturers comply with the standard set.
   3. To advise the federal government generally on the nations policy on standard specification.
   4. To provide the necessary measures for quality control of raw material
   5. To establish a quantity assurance system including certification of factories, products and laboratories.
2. THE PRICE CONTROL BOARD.

        The price control board was formed in 1970 and its objectives are-:

1. To stabilize general prize levels and avoiding artificial prices which are unreal to the economic forces, this minimizing black marketing.
2. To protect the interest of low income groups
3. Check hoarding of goods.
4. Fix control prizes

C   THE FOOD AND DRUG DEPARTMENT.

  This department was formed in 1974 within the ministry of health at both the federal and state levels. The department is concerned with the regulation of the manufacture, sales and advertisement of foods, drugs, cosmetics and related department.  Its objectives are:-

1. Prohibit the sales of any good that has poisonous or harmful substance and unfit for human consumption.
2. Prohibit the selling of any good prepared under unsanitary Condition
3. Prohibit the selling of any adulterated goods to consumers 
4. Check false advertisement of goods (foods and drugs ) 

PRICE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

This was established in 1976 as research arm of the price control board. They are to uncover all forms of malpractices engaged in by suppliers, manufactures, and importers towards endangering the rights of consumers. 

    They study continuously price movement, and map out measures for the regulation of prices.  They also maintain the sale price with the cooperation of similar boards outside the country. They control continually the factory price of goods imported into Nigeria for the regulation of the prices of the imported goods. 

COMMUNITY PROGRAMMES

Cooperative Societies 

Cooperative Societies are business organizations formed by people who have similar interests. There are three types of cooperative societies 

(a)  Producers Cooperatives 

(b)  Consumer’s Cooperatives 

(c)   Credit and thrift cooperatives

(a)       Producers Cooperatives:- These are association of producers of a product who come together in order to protect the interest of their association e.g. farmers . They sell their products to the society and then share their profit.

(b)      Consumer’s cooperatives: - These are formed for the welfare of consumers:- They  buy goods in bulk and sell to members of society at retail prices.  Profits made from sales are shared at the end of the year.  

(c)     Credit and thrift cooperatives: These associations are formed to lend money to their members as loans who would not have been able to obtain loans from the bank.

NOTE  

A food item is said to be adulterated if it is filthy, putrid or decomposed, produced under unsanitary Conditions, contains any substance deleterious to health, produced from a dead animal e.g. suya. 

Any valuable ingredient is omitted. A food is misbranded if (1) it fails to comply with standard of  identify for that food, (2) it is wrongly labeled, (3) it fails to meet with regulations for filling of containers, (4) the label fails to list the name of the manufacturer, packer or distributor.

EVALUATION QUESTIONS 

(1)      Define Consumer education 

(2)      State two importance of consumer education to a consumer. 

(3)      Who are consumer agents

(4)      State three government agencies 

(5)      What do you understand by cooperative society 

READING ASSIGNMENT 

Topic Food budget 

Rep. Foods and Nutrition for S S 1 - 3 pages 95 & 96.

WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT 

(1)      Consumer education will enable the consumer to know his / her …………………….

(2)      weak point  (b) Right  (c) Home  (d) environment.

(2)      Consumer education helps the consumer to know how and where to buy goods and services needed (a) True  (b) False.

(3)      Comprise shopping sauces the consumers from …………………

(a)  Overpricing tactics (b) Bad buying (c) more of the above  (d0 All of the above.

(4)      Consumer education helps us to eliminate ………….. in consumer (a) economy (b) waste (c) moray  (d) food items 

(5)      Buying food in secession will help the consumer to …………………

(a)   Buy fresh and cheap foods (b)   Buy state foods (c)   Buy contaminated foods 

(d)   None of the above.

THEORY

(1)       Explain what you understand by consumer education 

(2)       Who are consumer agents?