notwoxer (An RB Amero Blog)

The best thing about blogging is there is no such thing as "we'll go to print at 12 midnight", or, "the taped interview will be done in 3 hours including editing". It's instantaneous; and with GSK's Za Tahir being so responsive and helpful, it makes us bloggers' life a lot easier. God knows there too much stress going around already! Za has thanked me for getting the issue to my network, which I must say was just my kids and I, and maybee my fiancee Noraishah and a primary schoolmate Lisa Ashburn. But Jeff Ooi is a brudder to me, so when he found out I was following the case, he linked me. Thanks bro! Anyways, here is Za's response; she first apologises for the confusion: Please accept my apologies for any confusion that might have arose. I am pleased to clarify the miscommunication and would appreciate if you could amend as follows : " GSK confirm that Ribena products sold in Malaysia are certified halal by JAKIM (Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Mal...

GSK Malaysia's Za Tahir called me up yesterday afternoon, apologising that she was not able to reply to my email earlier. I had asked GSK's position on independent testing of the Vitamin C content of their local and imported Ribena packs, as well as several other issues. Za was stuck in Putrajaya (for a meeting I presume), and asked if she could "articulate a response" later in the evening. I agreed, and about 7:30pm I received her email. Excerpts: FYI, occasionally the Ministry of Health conduct post market surveillance on our products. Hence, we are open to an independent laboratory testing for Ribena. We confirm that Ribena Concentrate contain the stated levels of Vitamin C, as described on the product label It is heartening to know that they are not secretive of their products; it is a mark of a consumer driven company, although I speak only of the Malaysian operations. Truth is, no matter how you look at it, the case in New Zealand and Australia may prove to be ...

An anonymous comment left on my immediate previous post on this whole Vitamin C brou-ha-ha reminded me of my marketing school days; that USP that we look for can be so strong that people buy into the USP blindly, forgetting that the very USP we buy a product for may actually be available elsewhere. GSK positioned that blackcurrants contain more Vitamin C than oranges - this statement alone can be viewed and internalised from many angles. But only two fruits are in this equation; no problem there, and the claim is supported by a weigh-for-weight debate. But did you realise that Vitamin C is also obtained from your good old spinach, broccoli as well as red and green peppers (yummy!). A Harvard School of Public Health article I found says this: Excellent food sources of vitamin C are citrus fruits or citrus juices, berries, green and red peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, and spinach. Left: Harvard School of Public Health Longwood Campus (from Wikipedia) The article says about 200 to 300mg of...