By Leona Boey

I am sure that most people, like me, are still in shock over the melamine scandal.

It is every parent's worst nightmare - having poisonous substances deliberately added to the milk that our babies and children drink.

Because of the widespread use of China-produced milk, many others around the world could potentially fall victim to melamine-poisoning too.

How could this happen?

Many things can be said about the failure of the regulatory authorities in China, its lack of transparency, its poorly-educated farmers, the moral vacuum that leads some to value profit over the health and lives of others, the dangers of globalisation and the need for local watchdogs to be vigilant.

No doubt, experts will be commenting on these issues for many months to come.

But there is one factor that ordinary people like us should be considering: Our responsibility as consumers.

As buyers, we have the power to let manufacturers and retailers know what we will or will not accept.

But I fear that the signal consumers have been sending for far too long is that we are interested only in demanding cheaper and cheaper goods to satisfy our insatiable appetites.

And some manufacturers are being pressured to comply by cutting standards.

A few months ago, I chanced upon a China-made "micro-fibre duster" at a discount shop. I was delighted to see that it cost a fraction of the price of the expensive brand-name cloth I was using.

Besides, the packaging insert made many attractive claims about the effectiveness of the product.

I bought two straightaway, thinking of the money I was saving.

Imagine my horror when I opened one packet, only to be enveloped in a cloud of dust.
The cheap "micro-fibre duster" had started shedding its fibres even before I could remove it from its packaging.

I briefly considered taking it back to the shop and telling them about the poor quality of their merchandise, but decided it was too much trouble in the end.

In hindsight, I should have gone back.My complaint may at least have caused the retailer to stop the supply and saved another consumer from being duped.

Recent reports note that months before the milk scandal broke, a concerned father in China had tried to take up a complaint against Sanlu after his daughter suffered ill effects from drinking Sanlu milk.

Unfortunately, he was persuaded to drop his case before it became widely known.

How many babies and children might have been saved if he, a concerned consumer, had persisted in his complaint?

As the ripples from the melamine debacle continue to travel around the world, I hope that at least one good thing has
emerged from it - that it has made us more aware of our responsibility as consumers.

I, for one thing, will be scrutinising the contents and origin of products closely.

I will also be making the choice to spend a little more on better-quality products from well-regulated and ethical sources, rather than just going for the cheapest.

And I will no longer let apathy or shyness stop me from making my dissatisfaction known to retailers or manufacturers.

After all, it is my responsibility as a consumer to send a clear message to producers.

The author is a freelance writer and editor who lives in an HDB estate in the north of Singapore. She worked in the
financial sector for 10 years before taking a break to be a full-time mum to two young boys.

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