Lower quality of same food brands in Eastern Europe

[Magnolia]

Calling the country “Europe’s garbage can” a Czech MP says he’ll fight the EU law allowing for sales of inferior products in Central and Eastern Europe

There aren’t many countries whose citizens can honestly say that they cross international borders in the name of doing their weekly grocery shopping.

But a number of Czech consumers, not to mention our long-suffering readership, regularly do just that in an effort to avoid the poor facsimiles of name brand products commonly found on local supermarket shelves.

In fact, a 2015 study discovered that 35 percent of foodstuffs sold under name brands in the Czech Republic (instant coffee, yogurt, margarine, and some brands of cold cuts) were made with different ingredients than their Western versions.

Such sales are legal within the European Union where as long as manufacturers list all of the ingredients on their packaging, formulations may differ between markets.Large companies like Coca-Cola and Tchibo have defended the practice by saying that they are simply catering to local taste buds and living standards.

Czech Minister of Agriculture Marian Jurečka, who recently dubbed the Czech Republic “Europe’s garbage can,” says that he vehemently disagrees.

Jurečka has announced that he will team up with policymakers in Slovakia and Hungary to petition the EU to ban sales of inferior food within Central and Eastern Europe.

To that end, a food-quality study has been ordered; that data will be used to push for new legistation that would see consistent ingredients across the EU.

The primary aim of Jurečka’s initiative is to ensure that items with the same producer, the same packaging, and the same font have the same ingredients.

According to Eurostat, food is about 25 percent cheaper overall in the Czech Republic than in neighboring Germany.

https://www.expats.cz/prague/article/weekly-czech-news/lawmakers-call-for-ban-on-sales-of-inferior-food-in-czech-republic/



I have to add that it is not true that lower quality food is sold cheaper here. It was proven some of it is even more expensive than eg in Germany.

[Magnolia]

Big companies are selling better food in Austria than they sell in Hungary, even though the brands are supposed to be the same, the Hungarian government said yesterday (16 February).

Hungary’s food safety authority, NEBIH, looked at 24 products sold in both Hungary and Austria by international retailers like Lidl and Aldi. It found, among other things, that the local version of Manner wafers was less crunchy and the domestic Nutella not as mellow as the Austrian counterpart.

“I was dismayed upon reading this brief report,” Janos Lazar, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s chief of staff, told a news conference. “I think this is the biggest scandal of the recent past.”

Lazar said the government would begin a large-scale review of more products available in Hungary. He declined to say what specific action Budapest might take.

Hungary is not alone in its concern. Neighbouring Slovakia’s food quality watchdog said this week it had found differences in taste, look and composition in nearly a dozen products sold locally and in Germany and Austria.

he latest analysis, conducted by the Agriculture Ministry and the State Veterinary and Food Administration (ŠVPS), revealed that about half of the foodstuffs tested displayed significant differences in their composition, the Slovak Spectator reported. The agriculture minister said she will raise the issue at the European level.

“Customers expect the same quality from the same brand, regardless of the country of production or purchase,” Agriculture Minister Gabriela Matečná told a press conference on Tuesday (14 February).

However, she may face a problem, observers warn: EU authorities are not much interested in the quality – as opposed to the safety – of food produced and sold across its member states.

The ŠVPS inspectors tested a range of 22 foodstuffs sold in retail chains in both Slovakia (specifically in Bratislava) and Austria (in the border towns of Kittsee and Hainburg) in November and December 2016.

They picked various kinds of food, including dairy, meat and fish products, chocolates, baked goods, cheese and drinks. As well as checking the packaging, including information about the composition and weight in grams, they also analysed the colour, flavour and smell.

In their analytical tests, the inspectors focused on quality parameters like the content of meat, fats or proteins (depending on which product was tested), and additional substances (like sweeteners and colouring).

“Up to one half of the products contained differences that significantly impact their quality,” Matečná said. These were mainly, with respect to the products sold in Slovakia, a lower proportion of meat, and a higher proportion of fats, more artificial sweeteners and preservatives, and a lower weight in grams, she added.

Tests comparing the quality of foods sold in Western and Eastern Europe were carried out previously in 2011, commissioned by the Slovak Association of Consumers. It tested a selection of labelled food products purchased from supermarkets in eight EU member states: Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. Among the selected foodstuffs were beverages, chocolate, pepper and coffee.

Those tests also confirmed that multinational companies typically vary the quality of the products that they ship to different European countries under the same brand. The only product that proved to be of identical quality across all the samples tested was Milka chocolate.

The European Commission, however, responded to the findings by saying that the accusations were baseless, and stating that multinational companies were free to adapt their products to different markets.

POSITIONS

Following the publication of this article, on 20 February the company Ferrero which produces Nutella sent the following position:

"As a global company, we manufacture our products in several production plants throughout Europe and the world. Nevertheless, we can guarantee the high quality standards of the recipes made therein, defined at a central level by our Ferrero Group Quality Department; they are comparable both from the point of view of the composition and the preparation technology used. In addition, all our raw materials and packaging suppliers are qualified and selected according to corporate standards, centrally defined by highly specialized personnel. Furthermore, we carry out chemical-physical, microbiological and sensory tests at a central level. These tests verify and guarantee the quality of all products made in our factories, in order to ensure equivalent high standards.”

https://www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/news/lower-quality-of-same-food-brands-in-eastern-europe-raises-eyebrows/

[Magnolia]

Anybody has an opinion about that?

[Jehan]

I understand your position but this is pretty true:

Large companies like Coca-Cola and Tchibo have defended the practice by saying that they are simply catering to local taste buds and living standards.

Also, it might increase the price too much for the economic level if the products were of egals quality.
Anyway, czech is a capitalist state, if people dislike thoses products they can just by some other.

[Magnolia]

I understand your position but this is pretty true:


Also, it might increase the price too much for the economic level if the products were of egals quality.
Anyway, czech is a capitalist state, if people dislike thoses products they can just by some other.

Come on that argument is ridiculous. Any consumer wants food of lower quality. Btw. it is not only food this also applies to drugstore goods.
And of course people have choice not to buy it but here goes about the principle - it seems that people at least from Czech republic/Slovakia/Hungary (these three countries are usually taken as one market for international companies) are taken as lower people. An Austrian kid gets better quality Milka chocolate than a Hungarian kid. It's insulting and humiliating.

[Dandelion]

I've also noticed this when I was a smoker buying tobacco in a nightstore (run by some unpleasant Pakistani, probably with salafist sympathies). It wasn't meant for the Belgian market and the quality was horrid. This practice goes deeper and not just in the third world, but also the 'second world'.

[Era]

They pay more for it.

[Magnolia]

I wrote it in the beginning:
"I have to add that it is not true that lower quality food is sold cheaper here. It was proven some of it is even more expensive than eg in Germany."

[Era]

I wrote it in the beginning:
"I have to add that it is not true that lower quality food is sold cheaper here. It was proven some of it is even more expensive than eg in Germany."

Is that the case for all products? If yes then boycott is the answer.

[Lucia]

One of our MEPs was also doing that research, but I don't know if she's finished with it.
I think I believe it. In regular supermarket Milka and Nutella are from Poland and in Müller they are from Germany or Austria. The paradox is that the ones in Müller are even cheaper than the Polish ones in other supermarkets...

[Magnolia]

Is that the case for all products? If yes then boycott is the answer.

Probably not for all of them but price differences are not significant. It is very common that people from border areas go for shopping to Germany or Austria. They get better quality food and even financially it's beneficial for them.

[Dandelion]

Probably not for all of them but price differences are not significant. It is very common that people from border areas go for shopping to Germany or Austria. They get better quality food and even financially it's beneficial for them.

That sucks for you as you probably live near Prague as I understand which is very central in Cz.R. Mikula even has it worse, living closest to Poland with even shittier quality of food across the border, but at least cheaper probably.

[Magnolia]

That sucks for you as you probably live near Prague as I understand which is very central in Cz.R. Mikula even has it worse, living closest to Poland with even shittier quality of food across the border, but at least cheaper probably.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/07/poland-road-salt-human-consumption
:patpat:

We have strict food control (more strict than EU has), we find out everything.

[щрбл]

1. The laws of the free market are as they are. Quality of life, which includes food, goes hand in hand with how much money you are able/willing to spend on improving it.
2. Eastern Europe lacks regulations and laws. Not only that but people often lack civil culture. They endure things that westerners would never allow in their countries. Sometimes, they would not even defend their basic rights and 'let go'. That general obedience, that is fortunately less and less displayed, is a strong communist heritage.
3. Another communist heritage: state organisms regulating the quality of food are easily corrupted or prone to manipulation.


I have to add that it is not true that lower quality food is sold cheaper here. It was proven some of it is even more expensive than eg in Germany.

Directly related to 2. and 3. Just profit at all costs: low quality food is cheaper to produce. On a side note, kindness is not among the qualities of the food producing company CEOs, I hope you're not surprised. :rolleyes:

[Magnolia]

1. The laws of the free market are as they are. Quality of life, which includes food, goes hand in hand with how much money you are able/willing to spend on improving it.
2. Eastern Europe lacks regulations and laws. Not only that but people often lack civil culture. They endure things that westerners would never allow in their countries. Sometimes, they would not even defend their basic rights and 'let go'. That general obedience, that is fortunately less and less displayed, is a strong communist heritage.
3. Another communist heritage: state organisms regulating the quality of food are easily corrupted or prone to manipulation.



Directly related to 2. and 3. Just profit at all costs: low quality food is cheaper to produce. On a side note, kindness is not among the qualities of the food producing company CEOs, I hope you're not surprised. :rolleyes:

You are partially right - but I don't have sympathies for that flagellant approach. You can't know what would WEs allowed on this field because they never were in this situation. Remember their countries are full of immigrants and they allow it...

I dont know how the situation in Bulgaria is, I can speak only for my country. It is not true people are not angry about eg this food situation. We've known about it for several years and I can see that people's preferences are changing day by day. Czech people definitely prefer Czech products (many non-Czech food companies try to deceive consumers that their goods are of Czech origin). Many local food markets are founded. I guess it has a lot to do with the fact a new generation (people who werent raised during communism) have grown.

I am an optimists in that. Post-communist countries need time, that's right, but it already took 30 years. I guess most EE countries are stronger and more self-confident now.

[Oneeye]

Yeah, stop eating = problem solved

[Dick]

I'm not sure what name brands you're talking about but the coke I had in Amsterdam was different from the coke in Canada for example.

[brennus dux gallorum]

Then just boycott them, prefer products from your country or from Developing countries

[Magnolia]

Then just boycott them, prefer products from your country or from Developing countries

yes, that's a great idea (food from developing countries not so much, they have different hygienic standards). But first of all people should know what brands or companies they should ban. It is important to say loudly who does it.

[Dandelion]

By the way, I never realised it even was the case so close at home (poorer EU countries).

But yeah, I knew a poorer quality of goods in developing countries was a fact, and goods produced in those same developing countries of better quality get sold to the highest bidder in the West leaving the locals with the inferior scraps.

[brennus dux gallorum]

Greece probably also gets worse quality food even if you still don't know it.



So what are we supposed to do, kick out these companies from Poland?

I don't know, and I don't care to be honest, as I rarely consume imports

[MissMischief]

Is the price the same? Nescafé in France tastes very different to that in the UK, just like American Nutella has more sugar and fewer hazelnuts than the Italian version, for instance (my sister has travelled to the US and she noticed that, she said it tastes awful). I don't think it is racism but variety according to local preferences in the main.

[Dandelion]

Is the price the same? Nescafé in France tastes very different to that in the UK, just like American Nutella has more sugar and fewer hazelnuts than the Italian version. for instance (my sister has travelled to the US and she noticed that, she said it tastes awful). I don't think it is racism but variety according to local preferences in the main.

You just can't serve inferior coffee to an Italian. Your taste buds just notice it more readily.

And I am of course 'well-sourced' on the subject: https://youtu.be/ZAJNFoHuLno?t=3m36s

;)

[Magnolia]

It is not about local preferences, it is just made from worse row materials (eg. palma oil x coconut oil), it contains a lower proportion of meat and more fat, etc. The same goes eg for detergents.
And even without it it is ridiculous to say we have a different taste than Austrians - we share the same cousin because of our common history, our traditional food is the same as Austrian traditional food.

[N1019]

These companies have made commercial decisions to offer products at a certain price point, aimed at a certain level of consumer, and of a certain quality while maintaining a sales volume and profit target. If that means the quality has to differ from more affluent countries, they have the right to make that decision.

To maintain equal quality with western Europe would mean either higher prices for consumers or lower profits. Why should the corporations sacrifice profit to subsidize poorer people? Do Czechs want to pay 25% more for their food? Can they even afford it? The businesses must have calculated that they would lose money if they took that path.

In the EU, all men are created equal, but some are more equal than others. What a giant mess the whole thing has become.

[Linebacker]

Are they really,because we eat them and are still better looking.

Europe's best models come from the East.

[Magnolia]

i said it before sometimes prices are even higher in CzechR than in Germany.

[N1019]

i said it before sometimes prices are even higher in CzechR than in Germany.

Then people should vote with their feet,

Why do they need Western rubbish food items, anyway? Their own stuff is probably better.

[Magnolia]

Then people should vote with their feet,

Why do they need Western rubbish food items, anyway? Their own stuff is probably better.

First of all we need EU regulations. The European guarantee of the same quality.
As for local products. The main role in that play multinational groceries; local producers are often not strong enough to could offer their products there, and small shops with local products are not able to compete them.

[Peterski]

But first of all people should know what brands or companies they should ban. It is important to say loudly who does it.

Make a list if you know them.

[Linet]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBcAZwSn2H8

[Antimage]

Eastern europeans produce less economically so they deserve less. Fuck the equality shit.

[EuropeanVlachSon]

Anybody has an opinion about that?

This is known since always.
We have a shop in my city with the same products you see in an avarage shop, but from Germany.
My mom always bought from this shop. For example, the washing pouder have a better quality.



i said it before sometimes prices are even higher in CzechR than in Germany.

The transport cost, and Germany is a bigger and richer market. When you have more people buying your food and more frequently, you can make lower prices.
When you buy can of Cola is mor expensive than buying a box of Cola. That's how capitalism works

[Sekkmer]

Eastern europeans produce less economically so they deserve less. Fuck the equality shit.
Sarcasm or trolling?

[Voodoo]

When I was in Hungary, they told me exactly this. So I'm pretty sure it's true.

[Ülev]

I don't know if food in our supermarkets is of worse quality than in Czech Rep. (I know that Czechs like to accuse us of exporting garbage food to their country, but I don't know how true it is), but it's true that some of Western products - like Jacobs coffee - are made of different ingredients depending to which country they go. Jacobs made for German market is better than Jacobs made for Polish market.

This is sick.

because that coffee was made in the Czech Republic, same with washing powders, if I remember Ariel for example

[щрбл]

You are partially right - but I don't have sympathies for that flagellant approach. You can't know what would WEs allowed on this field because they never were in this situation. Remember their countries are full of immigrants and they allow it...

I dont know how the situation in Bulgaria is, I can speak only for my country. It is not true people are not angry about eg this food situation. We've known about it for several years and I can see that people's preferences are changing day by day. Czech people definitely prefer Czech products (many non-Czech food companies try to deceive consumers that their goods are of Czech origin). Many local food markets are founded. I guess it has a lot to do with the fact a new generation (people who werent raised during communism) have grown.

I am an optimists in that. Post-communist countries need time, that's right, but it already took 30 years. I guess most EE countries are stronger and more self-confident now.

You are too western for the slavic standards. :eyes

And I'm rather pessimistic in general. 30 years more wouldn't be enough if you ask me. But anyway, I don't eat any kind of preprocessed food anymore. I've been running on rice, vegetables and a bit of meat for an year now and it feels great.

[Danaan]

Come on that argument is ridiculous. Any consumer wants food of lower quality. Btw. it is not only food this also applies to drugstore goods.
And of course people have choice not to buy it but here goes about the principle - it seems that people at least from Czech republic/Slovakia/Hungary (these three countries are usually taken as one market for international companies) are taken as lower people. An Austrian kid gets better quality Milka chocolate than a Hungarian kid. It's insulting and humiliating.

That's the EU. It's an economic union that facilitates the Germans, Dutch etc sell their crap.
Here, for example one 'reform' they wanted to pass a few years ago was about changing the definition of 'fresh milk'. Just to facilitate Dutch exports.

[Peterski]

Apparently someone repayed tit for tat and exported lower quality of same cows to Western Europe (?):

https://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?276484-%91Sick-cow%92-meat-scandal-in-Poland-fears-raised-over-other-slaughterhouses