Does Coca-Cola from Austrian supermarkets have a richer taste than from Hungarian ones, and is Nutella chocolate spread thicker? Do meat products in Slovakia contain less meat and more fat than the same products sold, for example, in Germany or any other Western European country? And do sugar-containing products use a substitute instead of sugar, and artificial flavors instead of natural fruits? In general, do manufacturers supply the food market of Eastern Europe with goods of lower quality than in neighboring Western EU countries, despite the same brand and identical packaging?
The European Commission decided to find out if this is true. After all, complaints from heads of government, particularly from Slovakia and Hungary, about double standards regarding the quality of food and beverages had been coming in two years ago. And they were increasing: they said that selling fish products that contain almost no fish and butter cookies that contain almost no butter is a violation of consumer rights in the countries of the eastern EU.
As Deutsche Welle reports, in 2017, the heads of state and government of EU countries discussed this issue at a special summit. Then European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker spoke in favor of banning double standards regarding the quality of food products in the European Union. Since then, the European Commission has introduced special unified testing methods for beverages and food. And at the end of June 2019, the results of a food product inspection ordered by the European Commission and conducted by its own research center were presented.
The researchers tested 1,400 products from 19 EU countries, 10 of which are in the eastern EU. According to the study results, no systematic violation of consumer rights regarding the quality of food and beverages in the eastern EU countries was found.
True, according to the study results, almost a third of the products differed in ingredient composition despite identical packaging. But the EU emphasizes that this does not necessarily lead to a decline in product quality. After all, for food manufacturers, the factor of regional taste preferences plays an important role.
The authors of the study were unable to establish a single standard indicating that these are specifically food products for countries in the eastern EU. According to European Commissioner for Consumer Protection Věra Jourová, based on the inspection, national authorities have been instructed to investigate individual identified cases to avoid further misconceptions on this matter.
As explained by the German Association for the Joint Use of Trademarks, which responded positively to the study results, "there has never been a difference between products for the east and west of the EU." The established discrepancies in the composition of certain products are related to different names of ingredients, the association believes.
In addition, manufacturers are allowed to take into account the taste priorities of consumers in different countries, and the composition of ingredients may change depending on taste preferences in a particular country. "Therefore, some products in different states cannot and should not taste the same," said the head of the association, Christian Köhler.
And this, in his words, does not lead to a deterioration in the quality of food products. According to Köhler, a ban on double standards regarding food quality would lead to manufacturers being unable to fulfill the wishes of consumers in different regions.
Meanwhile, European Commissioner Věra Jourová stated that the EU will now punish the use of double standards for food quality. "Consumers can be absolutely sure that the ingredient composition matches what is stated on the packaging," Jourová assured.
And European Commissioner for Culture and Education Tibor Navracsics, in turn, noted that he is pleased with the absence of a difference in the quality of food products between the east and west of the European Union, but is concerned that almost a third of products have a changed ingredient composition, although they are sold in all countries in identical packaging.