Foodlaw-Reading
Dr David Jukes, The University of Reading, UK
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Commission Daily News, 12 October 2017
On Friday, a summit dedicated to dual quality of food products will be held in Bratislava upon invitation of the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, with participation of the Prime Ministers from the Czech Republic, Bohuslav Sobotka, Hungary, Victor Orban, and Poland, Beata Szydło.
The focus of the summit is to discuss a way forward in tackling unfair practices related to dual food quality. The Commission will be represented by Commissioners Jourová and Andriukaitis, who will present the Commission's initiatives to tackle dual quality issues, such as the recent Guidelines on the implementation of EU consumer law in dual standards cases and the work on a methodology to improve food products testing that the Joint Research Centre (JRC) is currently developing.
Ahead of the summit, Commissioner Jourová said: "My main goal for the Bratislava summit is to give what the Commission promised – to help the national authorities to deal with a problem of dual standards of food. It is time to put an end to this practice. Our single market is not a double-standards market". Commissioner Andriukaitis said: "I am very committed to support Member States by encouraging the presence of reformulated products on their national markets, in order to reduce for example sugar or salt content in foods over time. This can be a gradual process, sometimes taking place at different speeds in different Member States, with the ultimate goal of encouraging healthier choices for consumers. Indeed, what I would like to see is our citizens taking care of their health – opting for healthier choices."
The summit will also be an opportunity to discuss other Commission actions to better tackle unfair practices such as collection of evidence and enforcement as well as the ongoing dialogue with producers and brand associations.
More information on the Commission's work on dual food, see the previous news item: 26 September 2017 FOOD QUALITY - Dual quality food products: Commission guides Member States to better tackle unfair practices.
