A test for the Ministry of Agriculture was prepared by the University of Chemical Technology in Prague. Experts tested a total of 21 products, namely baby food, pet food and private products from the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. Eleven products were different, three slightly different, and seven rated the same.
"This test, focusing on infant nutrition and private brands, has shown that dual quality is still a big problem here. With private brands, it is clear that customers in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia receive products of varying quality, often with a worse quality, " said Agriculture Minister Marian Jurečka.
The test revealed, for example, ketchups containing a variety of tomatoes. Spaghetti for the Czech and Slovak markets were made from common wheat, while for the Austrian market it was made of harder wheat. Pineapple slices for Germany and Austria were pickled in pineapple juice, for the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary in sugar syrup. A big difference was also in frozen sausage pizza . While eidam and mozzarella were used in German, in the pizza of the same chain for the Czech market was an analogue of cheese, a substitute made from vegetable fats. The same chain also sells orange lemonade sugar-coated with orange juice in Germany. In the Czech Republic, the "same" lemonade contains artificial sweeteners and the orange juice is replaced by a cheaper apple.
Only moderate differences were found in instant infant formula, the nutritional value and the representation of individual components varied slightly. The banana, peach and apple flavor had the same composition in all countries, on the contrary the pumpkin nourishment of the same producer intended for the Czech market contained 90 percent of the pumpkin, German only 65 percent, the rest was replaced with starch.
"Here, too, the dual quality of food has been confirmed, however, on the contrary, when German consumers receive infant formula with a lower content of the basic ingredient. I see no reason why both Czech and German customers should have different quality. In these surveys, we will continue, publish them and point out to those companies that use this unfair commercial practice, " said Minister Jurečka.
Since the publication of the first dual quality survey in July 2017, there has been a major shift. Both the manufacturers and the retail chains, which the minister sent a personal letter after the survey, announced that they would change recipe for some products. The EU Member States' view of dual quality has also changed, and the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has also pointed out the problem as unacceptable, with the need to address it.
Source: tz
