Brussels - Slovakia's prime minister urged the European Commission on Thursday to act on the perceived difference in quality between products sold by the same brand in Eastern and Western Europe.

Slovakia, as well as Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, have long claimed that packaged food and other consumer products such as washing powder are of inferior quality compared to the same brands with the same packaging sold in Western Europe.

"How would you react if your washing powder had 20 per cent less active matter?" Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico asked.

Fico also claimed that processed food was being sold in Slovakia that contained less pork and more low quality chicken meat leftovers - despite weighing the same, looking the same and costing the same.

For his part Jean-Claude Junker, the head of the EU Commission assured Fico that the issue was "unacceptable."