“I bought a box of apples, but it turned out that I paid most of my money for the ballast!” Ms. Li complained that sellers had increased the weight of packing box to get benefit from it.

　　On May, 21st, Ms. Li dialed 12315, an official hotline for consumers\' complaints, immediately when she found the problem. Officials from Yichang Administration for Industry and Commerce were also shocked to find that there was a thick concrete slab at the bottom of the box. They took out all the apples and then weighed the box. The box was nearly 3kg! After the officials’ mediation, the store owner agreed to compensate for Ms. Li’s loss.

　　“Some store owners think it’s better to keep fruits in thicker and more solid boxes when transporting them from other places. And they put ballast at the bottom of the boxes to keep these boxes in shape.” It’s learnt from these officials that at present, there’s no legal requirement about the specific content of fillers in fruit boxes, but costumers do have right to know. Costumers pay for fruits according to the weight of the fruits, so they should be informed about the net weight of these fruits when they buy them. If the net weight does not match what costumers are informed, then the sellers could be considered violating costumers’ rights. “This happens rarely. Customers should always be aware of protecting their rights,” said one of the officials.

　　Officials from the Yichang Administration for Industry and Commerce suggest that citizens buy fruit from legal dealers and keep receipts. It’s best that the box can be opened for a check and the net weight of fruit is on the sales check.

　　Apart from "concrete box" and "thick cardboard", some people say that they have the experience of buying a box of Red Delicious apple with insufficient numbers. It is convenient for consumers to check the box and avoid disputes if the weight is written on the box. Packed fruit with weight written on it, however, is rarely seen in the fruit market.

　　More importantly, we consumers concerned very much about problems like where the packing boxes come from and what material they are made of in that we are not sure whether the material work well for transportation and storage. In addition, the material of the box is closely related to our health as well.

　　The public no longer want to be “harmed” by short-weighted products. We hope that the relevant authorities will implement the market admission system for fruit packaging because it often triggers disputes.  (Reporter: Zhang Bokang; correspondent: Zhang Lanxin)