Same packaging, different composition. Such a principle refers to the often inflected term “dual quality”. The controversial topic of different product content across EU countries came to the fore about four years ago, resonating in the Czech Republic mainly before the European Parliament elections in 2019. Now it is returning to the scene as the assessment of whether European rules work begins.
The law prohibits food retailers from making significant differences in goods placed on the European market – and if they are in food, the consumer must be clear about this from the product packaging. It follows from the working manual Basic principles of double food quality control from the State Agricultural and Food Inspection Authority (CAFIA).
It is the interpretation of the differences of goods that is according to Kryštof Kruliš from the Consumer Forum. In particular, what is considered a “substantial difference/variance” and how it is to be demonstrated.
“It is necessary to realize that regulation can be applied to a wide range of products, and this concept can in principle be assessed for each product, taking into account different factors and parameters,” Kruliš pointed out. According to him, it would therefore be appropriate to refrain from monitoring certain differences, for example, if producers take away the amount of sugar or added “eggs” and fail to do so in all parts of the EU’s internal market as quickly.