Background



Studies have shown that food and other products marketed in some central and eastern EU countries, although safe, can be of a lower quality than the same products in the same packaging in Western Europe. This varies from less meat in meat products, to less cocoa in chocolate, no oranges in orange juice and syrup or artificial sweeteners instead of sugar:



Tests have been conducted for sodas, meat, fish or dairy products, teas and confectionery. Fish sticks contained less fish in Slovakia than in Austria (58% vs 65%). No oranges had been used for orange drinks in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, while those sold in Germany contained 3% orange concentrate. In Hungary 71 out of 96 products were different compared to the same products sold in Italy and Austria. Differences were also found for cosmetics, detergents and pet food.



Adjusting products to local tastes, preferences and prices is standard practice and can also be legal. The difference in taste might also stem from using local ingredients in local factories or cheaper ones to adjust to local purchase power. But in this case, the prices were the same or higher with no mentions on the package, which was misleading.



“If producers want to change their product and sell it under the same label, consumers need to know about the differences in each specific case otherwise they are being cheated,“ said Sehnalová, the MEP in charge.