Discrepancies have been revealed in about a third of 39 identically labelled food products sold in Hungary and in western Europe in the latest quality tests ordered by Minister of Agriculture Sándor Fazekas.

The discrepancies characterising products generally consumed in the summer “confirm the existence of double quality standards within the European Union”, the Ministry of Agriculture said on Tuesday.

The National Food Chain Safety Office (Nébih) tested 23 packaged products used for barbecues, eight alcoholic drinks and fresh drinks and eight types of vegetable and fruit over the past two months. The list of ingredients shown on the packaging differed in the case of four food products and two alcoholic drinks, and sensory tests showed differences in the case of five packaged products despite identical ingredients shown on the packaging, the ministry said. All vegetables and fruit surveyed met the current quality requirements but significant differences were reported in the case of champignon sold in Hungary and in western Europe, it added.

The Hungarian government has drafted a bill seeking to compel multinational companies to declare differences in quality or ingredients to consumer information on the labels of products sold in Hungary.

via hungarymatters.hu and MTI