A study of branded food samples from Bulgaria and four other EU member states has provided further evidence for what these states are calling ‘double standards’ in the content and quality of food sold in eastern and western Europe.
The findings of the study, presented to the EU, show marked differences in the quality of identical food products. EU officials have now pledged to take measures in early 2019 at the latest to address this issue. Three weeks ago the Commission proposed a so-called ‘New Deal for Consumers’ including directives against unfair business-to-customer commercial practices as well as action to protect collective consumer interests.
Bulgaria has recently has been the most vocal member state, with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov saying: “Double standards in food products in the European Union have left 100 million people (in the EU’s east) feeling like aborigines.” Other states to lend weight to the argument were the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary.
According to Bulgarian Agriculture Minister Rumen Porozhanov, laboratory tests found different ingredients in seven of 31 food products sold in his country and in Austria and Germany. Furthermore, 16 of the tested food items – including various meat, dairy, baby food, juice and chocolates – were sold at higher prices than in other EU countries.
This is not a new concern by any means: investigations into the issue reach back as far back as 2011, when Czech, Slovak and Hungarian officials found food sold in their countries had cases of higher concentrations of artificial sweeteners and preservatives, higher concentrations of fats and lower concentrations of meat compared with identical products sold in either Austria or Germany.
EU rules allow international food companies to sell identically-branded products with different ingredients as long as they are clearly labelled and food safety regulations properly observed. In response, food companies have said these differences in ingredients relate to varying regional taste preferences.