Consumer groups urge beverage retailers to clarify ice use

Two national consumer groups on Tuesday urged beverage retailers nationwide to clarify with consumers about the necessity and the amount of ice cubes added to their drinks.

The China Consumers Association and the Association of China Commercial Enterprise Management said they are launching an "ice-breaking" campaign and urging retailers to respect consumers' rights of knowing, choice and fair trade.

The groups' call comes after media reports revealed that beverages served in some shops consist of a large proportion of ice.

In one case, a consumer in Nantong, Jiangsu province, bought two cups of latte coffee from popular chain beverage retailer Luckin Coffee and found that more than two-thirds of the cup was still filled with ice after the customer finished drinking the liquids.

The customer complained in social media, sarcastically questioning if the retailer was selling ice rather than coffee.

A customer service worker from Luckin Coffee told the newspaper that beverages from the company are made in strict accordance with recipes and procedures, and iced drinks can't be made with less ice. The worker further said that customers may choose iceless drinks instead.

The consumer groups said that retailers should respect consumers' rights of knowing by taking the initiative to ask about the amount of ice that customers want, and explain if certain products have to be made with fixed amounts of ice.

Retailers should also provide choices such as "extra ice", "regular ice", "less ice" or "iceless" for customers to choose, or simply separate ice cubes from drinks to let customers decide themselves, in order to respect their rights of choice, the groups said.

Moreover, retailers should be honest in promoting their products and clearly mark that customers can ask for iceless drinks, the groups said, adding that they are obliged to reply in a timely manner if customers question about the amount of ice cubes.