May 28, 2015

Contact: Carol McKay, NCL, 412-945-3242 or 724-799-5392, carolm@nclnet.org

Washington, DC – As millions of American teens begin their summer jobs this week, the nation’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization is warning young workers and their parents to exercise caution when it comes to seasonal work. The National Consumers League (NCL) has issued its annual report on the worst jobs for teens, with work in agriculture topping the list. The organization is also reminding parents and teens that—while jobs provide many benefits—some workplaces present dangers for inexperienced teen workers even in the United States, where a teen is hurt on the job every 9 minutes. In a typical year, a child dies in the United States nearly every 14 days at work.

In the Five Most Dangerous Jobs for Teens 2015, NCL names the five worst jobs and provides practical advice for staying safe.

NCL’s Five Most Dangerous Jobs for Teens in 2015 are: (full report PDF here)

• Tobacco Harvester
• Agriculture: Harvesting Crops and Using Machinery
• Traveling Youth Sales Crews
• Construction and Height Work
• Outside Helper: Landscaping, Grounds keeping and Lawn Service

The five jobs share above average risk of injury or fatality rates and/or present a work environment that is dangerous.

“The 2012 withdrawal of proposed federal safety protections for children who work in agriculture means that children are continuing to do hazardous work in agriculture from ages 12 to 16, when they are protected by child labor laws from doing hazardous work in other industries,” said Reid Maki, NCL’s director of child labor advocacy. “For that reason, we’ve reserved two slots on our “five most dangerous jobs” for children working in agriculture: child tobacco harvesters and children who harvest fruits and vegetables or work with farm machinery.”

“A 12-year-old child cannot legally smoke cigarettes, but they can work in 100-degree heat in tobacco fields while they are subjected to nicotine poisoning and dangerous pesticides,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL executive director. “It’s outrageous, and it’s something we are working hard to fix through our work on the Child Labor Coalition, which NCL founded and co-chairs.”

“The National Consumers League issues our Five Most Dangerous Jobs for Teens report to remind teens and their parents to choose summer jobs wisely,” said Maki. “We want teens to have a safe and productive work experience. The report provides valuable tips and suggestions to ensure that parents can help children protect themselves on the job and help teens be proactive about their own safety.”

Tips for teen workers

NCL’s Five Most Dangerous Jobs for Teens report aims to empower teens to ask for needed safety training and say “no” when dangerous tasks are requested. NCL wants youth workers to say “no” to jobs that involve:

• door-to-door sales, especially out of the youth’s neighborhood;
• long-distance traveling away from parental supervision;
• extensive driving or being driven;
• driving forklifts, tractors, and other potentially dangerous vehicles;
• the use of dangerous machinery;
• the use of chemicals;
• working in grain storage facilities; and
• work on ladders or work that involves heights where there is a risk of falling.

To learn more about the Five Most Dangerous Jobs, visit www.nclnet.org. To read the full report, click here (PDF).

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

May 22, 2015

Contact: Carol McKay, NCL, 412-945-3242, carolm@nclnet.org

Washington, DC—With the Memorial Day holiday looming, the nation’s pioneering consumer advocacy organization, the National Consumers League (NCL), is warning consumers about excess taxes and fees that may be tacked on to their car rental bills this weekend. According to the League, car rental taxes have skyrocketed in recent years, growing 8 times since 1990. Today, 43 states and the District of Columbia place a tax on car rentals, and 118 rental car taxes are enforced.

This holiday weekend, according to AAA, an estimated 37.2 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from their homes—a nearly 5 percent increase from the 35.5 million people who traveled last year and the highest travel volume for the holiday in 10 years. Of those, 33 million travelers will be driving to their destinations. With gas prices remaining relatively flat recently, this year’s Memorial Day gas prices are well under last year’s.

“With so many consumers renting cars for their travel this weekend, we wanted to warn them to be on the lookout for the taxes they may not have expected to pay, and to dispel some of the myths about who is affected by these taxes,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “There are a lot of misconceptions about who rents cars and is therefore footing the bill for the local projects the taxes fund. Many believe that the majority of car renters are tourists or businesses from out of state, making these taxes seem okay, but actually one in two car renters are local residents, and bear the brunt of these costs.”

Half of all cars are rented by in-state residents. The majority of self-paying car rental customers do not own cars and typically have low incomes; households earning a median household salary of less than $50,000 a year pay 31 percent of all home-city car rental taxes.

Where the taxes go is often another source of misconception, said Greenberg. “Revenue from these taxes rarely, if ever, goes to build roads, hospitals, schools, or libraries. Instead, they go to build stadiums, art museums, and convention centers—none of which are critical to the infrastructure of the community.”

In fact, said Greenberg, nearly half of all existing or proposed car rental taxes are earmarked for non-essential projects. NCL is a member of CART, a broad coalition of concerned organizations raising awareness of the dangers of an increasing reliance on car rental excise taxes.

For more tips, visit www.nclnet.org

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

May 19, 2015

Contact: Carol McKay, NCL, 412-945-3242, carolm@nclnet.org
Paul Miller, Australian Olive Association, +61 41-285-4974, hortempm@bigpond.com
Mary Flynn, Brown University, 401-793-4707, Mary_Flynn@brown.edu

Washington, DC— The National Consumers League (NCL) has released the testing results of national brands of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) products, finding that – of 11 products sampled – six failed to meet EVOO standards when evaluated by a highly accredited Australian lab. In early January of this year, the consumer group purchased 11 different varieties of olive oil, all labeled extra virgin, from four major Washington area retailers (Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe’s, Safeway, and Giant). Of those 11 products, six failed to meet International Olive Council (IOC) standards required to be considered extra virgin quality; only five were found to be true extra virgin olive oils.

“One of NCL’s priorities is to assess whether the food in our supermarkets are accurately labeled,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL’s executive director. “The results of our olive oil testing reveal that, while consumers are buying and paying extra for olive oil labeled EVOO, too much of the olive oil bought off the shelf isn’t the real deal. It’s mislabeled, or it’s been degraded over the course of the shipping and storage process. When that happens, consumers are paying top dollar for that EVOO label without getting the enhanced health and taste benefits.”

Olive oils are classified based on their chemistry, flavor profile, and presence of defects, and are labeled (from best quality to worst quality) extra virgin, virgin, ordinary, and lampante. An olive oil found to have any defects cannot be classified as “extra virgin.” At the other end of the spectrum, lampante is a classification that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, along with other standard-setting authorities, uses to indicate that the oil is not fit for human consumption.

Shortly after purchase in January, NCL shipped the samples to the Australian Oil Research Laboratory (AORL), one of the world’s leading testing facilities accredited by the IOC and the American Oil Chemists’ Society. NCL commissioned AORL to comprehensively analyze the oils with a variety of tests, including sensory assessment (also known as the organoleptic assessment) in order to identify flavor profiles and defects in the oils.

The following five products were found to have no flavor defects and to be classified as extra virgin:

• California Olive Ranch “Extra Virgin Olive Oil”
• Colavita “Extra Virgin Olive Oil”
• Lucini “Premium Select Extra Virgin Olive Oil”
• Trader Joe’s “ Extra Virgin California Estate Olive Oil”
• Trader Joe’s “100% Italian Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil”

Some of the brands purchased were available at multiple retailers, while others were sold under the retailer’s private label. Bottles were selected from the back of lower shelves to ensure they were not damaged by exposure to natural or artificial lighting.

“Based on my review of the data, both the organoleptic (sensory or taste testing) and chemical tests support the same conclusion, that only five of the 11 [products] samples tested were ‘extra virgin’ as represented on the label,” said Richard Cantrill, chief science officer and technical director of the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS), a global network of oil scientists considered the leading fats and oils association in the world. “The testing authority for these NCL samples—Australian Oil Research Laboratories—holds full accreditation for both the sensory and chemical methods employed, and those methodologies are scientifically valid and referenced in different olive oil standards throughout the world.”

Several other authoritative sources have tested EVOO in the last several years and made similar findings. July 2010 the UC Davis Olive Center issued a report showing that 69 percent of imported olive oils labeled as “extra virgin” failed the IOC sensory standard – in other words, these oils were defective and failed to meet the international standard for extra virgin olive oil. In September 2012, Consumer Reports published results of its testing of EVOO-labeled samples and found only 9 of 23 met the EVOO standards. One piece of good news is that all the samples NCL tested were found to be 100 percent olive oil, and none were cut with refined oil or seed oil, which is a form of EVOO fraud. Several of the brands that failed to meet EVOO standards in NCL’s testing also failed when tested by these other entitles.

“Based on my experience and observations, I believe there is widespread mislabeling of extra virgin olive oil,” said Paul Miller, president of the Australian Olive Association. “In many cases, the packers of EVOO products may knowingly distribute older oils that may have been extra virgin at one point, but stand little chance of remaining extra virgin by the time the oil hits the grocery store shelves. In the worst cases the oil was probably nowhere near extra virgin quality when it was packed. The ‘best by’ dates can be inaccurate, leaving consumers with oil mislabeled as ‘extra virgin’ that is of poor quality, is not fresh or flavorful and lacks all the positive health effects of true extra virgin olive oil. In countries where the law on the books is enforced, such as Italy, Canada, Australia, and Germany, these problems are significantly reduced, but the United States currently is not one of those countries.”

American consumers often seek out extra virgin olive oil because of its health benefits. Research also indicates that oleocanthal, one of the phenolic compounds found in extra virgin olive oil, may offer disease-fighting properties.

“Extra virgin olive oils contain compounds called polyphenols, which are responsible for many of their purported health benefits. In general, the fresher the olive oil, the higher the polyphenol content,” said Mary Flynn, a leading olive oil researcher at Brown University. “As the oil ages or is exposed to heat, light or oxygen, the polyphenol content decreases. A number of studies have shown that extra virgin olive oils with higher polyphenol content are associated with greater health benefits. Oil classified as ‘ordinary,’ also known simply as ‘olive oil’ grades have virtually none of these benefits. ‘Lampante’ is Italian for ‘lamp oil,’ and is not fit for human consumption.”

“When consumers buy bottles labeled “extra virgin olive oil,” they expect that they will fully receive positive health effects and superior flavor. Our testing shows otherwise,” said NCL’s Greenberg. “More than half of the oils we tested off the shelf were inaccurately labeled.”

Some states are enacting stricter olive oil labeling and grading standards. California recently approved rules that include more precise requirements for testing for adulteration. While California’s stricter standards are welcome, the state supplies only 2 percent of America’s total olive oils.

“The U.S. needs stricter oversight and enforcement of EVOO labeling and standards,” said Greenberg. “Because neither the FDA nor the USDA has done effective spot testing and enforcement, consumers are left with little protection in this market. Retailers and the producers they buy from need to commit to cleaning up the market in America. If Italy, Canada, Australia, and Germany can work to clean up their EVOO industry, so can we. Consumers need to know that when they see ‘extra virgin olive oil’ on the product, they are actually getting what they paid for.”

“We have informed the six companies whose oils failed the tests for EVOO of the results and have declined to publish their names to give them an opportunity to address the situation that their oils are not reaching consumer shelves as represented, extra virgin, and to clean up their supply chains and/or manufacturing practices to meet standards applicable in the United States.  If an oil is labeled as extra virgin on a US retail shelf, it should test as extra virgin under U.S. standards in off-the-shelf testing,” said Greenberg. “We will consider, in the next year, retesting the products, using the same consumer-experience-simulation methodology, and we hope and expect to see these results improve in the next round of testing.”

Advice for consumers

For consumers, buying extra virgin olive oil with confidence in the United States is a challenge, according to Greenberg. “With the present lack of off-the-shelf testing and enforcement of US standards, it is difficult for consumers to know the real from the not so extra virgin.  Choosing brands that consistently pass testing is a good start.”

According to NCL, consumers should:

• Check for “best by” dates, or – even better – harvest dates.
• Avoid buying oils in clear glass bottles or from the top shelf, which could be more likely to be degraded. But, warned the NCL, even that is not foolproof, and buying oil in tins or dark bottles does not mean that there is extra virgin oil in there.
• Remember that the USDA Organic label is also no indication of authenticity, and the fact that an oil is from Italy or another producing country is likewise not a good indicator. 

About NCL’s work in food mislabeling and fraud

NCL has long worked to combat food fraud throughout the organization’s 115-year history. For example, at the 1904 World’s Fair, NCL exhibited green beans that were dyed green. NCL’s more recent work investigating food labeling has included testing bottles labeled “100% real lemon juice” which proved to be far short of 100% lemon juice. Most recently, NCL brought lawsuits against several bakeries and national restaurant chains for using misleading labeling on their products that would lead reasonable consumers to believe they had a greater whole grain content than they in fact did.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

May 15, 2015

Contact: NCL Communications, Carol McKay (412) 945-3242, carolm@nclnet.org

Washington, DC—On the heels of a California Senate move to ban the personal belief exemptions for vaccinations, the National Consumers League has issued the following statement, which may be attributed to Executive Director Sally Greenberg: 

“We applaud the leadership in California, where too many people had been choosing to go without vaccines based on personal belief – or, in many cases, misinformation – and where an outbreak of measles at Disneyland last December sickened 136 people. The science has been proven time and again. Vaccines are safe and effective—in individuals and for the greater community—and only those with health reasons should be exempted.

“Our own research has shown that Americans are confused about vaccines, and understandably so. For over a generation, we have lived virtually free from many of these diseases due to the effectiveness of the vaccines that have stamped them out. We have lost perspective on how deadly they can be. Now, we are dealing with a group of Americans who don’t appreciate the severity of these illnesses, are exercising personal choice to abstain from vaccinating, and are enabling these deadly diseases to start to infiltrate our communities once again. California is taking a step in the right direction by sending a very clear message about how narrow the exceptions should be in order to keep us safe as a community.”

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.