Double standards in food quality do exist in the EU and consumers are often being deceived by producers, concurred the participants in the Summit on Equal Quality Products for All, which took place in Bratislava on Friday. According to Slovak Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Gabriela Matečná, it was also declared that a unified and joint methodology for testing food and products should be created within the EU.
"The issue that has been discussed here doesn't concern the content of meat or sugar in specific products but concerns something far greater - people's trust in the European single market," stated EU Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Czech Věra Jourová. "I think that we have a good plan that has been built on current European legislation. It's a result-focused plan aimed at getting rid of the unfair commercial practices that feature the production and selling of goods of different quality under the same brand," said Jourová. She also added that the plan is expected to be implemented in the next two years.
Earlier in October, comparative food tests in Slovakia and Austria confirmed differences in the quality of products sold under identical names and brands. The samples were taken from retail warehouses in Bratislava and Senec (Bratislava region) and in Vienna during the summer. Only 6 out of the 33 products tested had no differences in content. "The share of meat was significantly higher in products sold in Austria. We had a lower share of meat, but a far higher share of salt, a fact that doesn't please us as consumers, as salt increases the occurrence of cardio-vascular diseases," said Matečná after the publication of the test results. A lower content of cocoa was also found in products sold in Slovakia. At the time, producers defended the differences in content, arguing that local consumers have different tastes and prefer lower priced products.
