Bengaluru: A recent picture of a dead, burnt lizard in a French fries packet has gone viral. A happy, loyal Mc Donald customer in Kolkata confronted this horror while having her French fries. She brought it to the notice of the manager, filed an FIR at the Phoolbagan Police station and the complainant is also moving the consumer forum against Mc Donald’s.

A similar event happened with me as well, a few days back at the Pizza Hut at Bell Road, Bangalore. I was craving Pizza, so went there to have a scrumptious dinner. To my horror, the first bite revealed to me a strand of hair. I accosted the manager, who wasn’t even apologetic. We paid our bill and exited empty stomach. I was in no mood for confrontation, but I should have. It is my right as a consumer to get good service and clean food and I should have exercised it. That brings me to think, how many of us know our rights as consumers? Here are a few things to keep in mind as consumers, be alert and celebrate World Consumers Day.

You have a right to goods that are safe, and within the guidelines of laws. You can make a complaint if expired or banned products are sold to you over the counter. Consumer’s ‘right to be protected against marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life and property’ is guaranteed in India’s consumer protection law.

The consumer law talks about imparting of complete knowledge of quality, quantity, purity and standard to its consumers. No wonder, you have all information written behind every sealed packet.

Every sealed packet should also have product certification by agencies such as ISI, Agmark to see if what you are buying meets the requisite standards.

You can fight in the consumer court against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade practices.

Violations of consumer protection rules can be reported to the consumer courts, which are available at the district level as well as the state levels.