Items must now contain the same ingredients across the board | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Eastern Europe wins battle over double food standards New rules aim to ensure consistent food quality across the bloc.

A consumer in Prague will soon be able to enjoy a Coca-Cola knowing it has the same ingredients as one sold on the shelves of Berlin.

In a victory for Central and Eastern European governments, EU negotiators reached a hard-fought agreement on Wednesday on rules for so-called dual-quality foods — identically branded products being sold with different ingredients in different markets. Central and Eastern European countries have pushed for rules to address this practice, which they say amounts to them getting more inferior products than those in the West.

Everyday items ranging from Coca-Cola cans to Iglo fish fingers and Head & Shoulders shampoo bottles must contain the same ingredients, give or take a few exceptions, according to the new rules agreed Wednesday after days of technical talks following a provisional deal Friday. The practice of marketing dual-quality foods will be considered a "misleading" commercial practice, and companies found to be in violation of the rules face fines of up to 4 percent of their annual turnover.

"It’s the first time ... that this is actually recognized," a Commission official said.

The rules, which make up part of a broader consumer legislation reform, are several years in the making after a major lobbying effort from former Eastern bloc countries, which faced pushback from those in the West who questioned whether legislation was even necessary.

Under the new rules, differing consumer tastes will not be considered a valid justification for selling different products.

Proponents of rules to crack down on dual-quality foods have pointed to studies such as one in 2015 that showed, for example, that Iglo fish sticks contained 7 percent less fish when sold in Czech supermarkets than in German ones. Another example showed that Czech-sold Sprite contained more aspartame than in Germany, where Coca-Cola sold a version of the soda with more real sugar.

The draft legislation, seen by POLITICO, defines a dual-quality product as one that "has significantly different composition or characteristics," which companies will be forbidden from marketing "unless justified by legitimate and objective factors." These factors range from seasonal ingredient shortages or national laws designed to curb sugar in food and drinks products, for example.

Industry has long maintained that such variations in ingredients bear no relation to the quality of the product on sale, saying that any differences are due to varying consumer preferences across Europe, as well as different manufacturing circumstances or national regulations. But under the new rules, differing consumer tastes will not be considered a valid justification for selling different products.

Companies that do market dual-quality foods under the approved exceptions must inform consumers of ingredient differences, according to the draft legislation, which says that such information must be "easily identifiable," but does not prescribe specific solutions.

Still, the text is far from airtight: There is no common definition of what constitutes a “significant” difference, and it doesn't set out how to determine a baseline recipe against which to compare products, according to officials following the file. For example, a Czech Sprite might contain more aspartame than a German Sprite, but the level of sweeteners in Spanish Sprite may fall somewhere in between.

Nevertheless, two officials said the intent is not so much to construct a text that covers every single base, but rather to scare companies into dropping the most flagrant abuses. "This allows for clear pressure," said one official.

It will be up to national consumer authorities to decide wrongdoing, on a case-by-case basis.

The text is also clear that Brussels may devise further restrictions should bad practice continue.

Under the draft law, Brussels would monitor the rules' effect for two years before submitting an analysis to the European Parliament and national capitals. "This report shall be accompanied, where necessary, by a legislative proposal," the text says.

One official painted the compromise as necessary to unite Central and Eastern European countries with Western skeptics, like Germany and Austria.

"It was such an uphill struggle to actually have this done," the official said.

The rules must still receive the final rubber-stamp of approval from the European Parliament and the Council to be finalized.

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