European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced on Thursday 27 July that guidelines on how to apply European food safety rules would be issued in September in order to bring an end to differing standards in the quality of foodstuffs.
The Commission, he said, is not treating this issue as being of minor importance. “We’ve decided to issue guidelines in September on how to interpret the food safety legislation”, he stated. The aim is to make it possible for member states and the appropriate national authorities to compare the quality of food products and provide guidance, if necessary, on how to impose penalties on those guilty of infringements.
The Commission also said that it had gathered information from 21 member states on the issue of double standards in the quality of foodstuffs. It will prepare a common methodology on how to compare the quality of foods.
European Energy Union Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said that there were “different practices between member states on how they can impose a fine if the discover an unfair commercial practice is taking place”.
Not ruling out the possibility of legislation in future, Juncker dismissed the idea that people in Central Europe were “second class citizens” paying the full price for food and consumer goods that were of lesser quality than stated on the packaging.
Having travelled to Brussels to argue the case of the Visegrád group of countries on double standards in the quality of foodstuffs (see EUROPE 11833), Robert Fico, the prime minister of Slovakia, said that such practices had to stop. He spoke of products where the meat was supposed to be pork but contained chicken off-cuts, and chocolate sold at the same price and in the same wrapping but of lesser quality in Slovakia than in Austria. Similarly, he highlighted washing powder containing 20% less active agents.
“First of all, it is for producers to make decisions”, he said, raising the possibility of unilateral action being taken by his government if efforts at European level are not successful.
Consumer summit. Fico welcomed the idea of a consumption summit in Bratislava, bringing together consumer, producer and distributor organisations and relevant public authorities. (Original version on French by Mathieu Bion)