Recent tests on branded food in three 'new' EU Member States have shown that the taste and composition of these products, sold under the same name and in the same packaging, sometimes differ from the 'same' products sold in neighbouring 'old' Member States.

Companies are known to change the composition of their branded products to adjust to local taste, local ingredients, divergent purchasing power, etc. EU legislation does not consider this to be misleading, as long as the products are safe, properly labelled and not falsely advertised as being identical to those sold in another Member State.

Dual quality of products - 8th parliamentary term

"Dual quality" of products can be defined as the marketing of goods with significantly different composition or characteristics, such as ingredients, as identical in different Member States.

Parliament has long voiced its concerns about the dual quality of food. The EP stressed that discrimination between consumers is unacceptable in any form. In recent years, the concern that some branded products might be inferior in the Member States that have joined the European Union since 2004 has become ever more apparent. This concern has come to be known as the 'dual quality of products'. To address the issue, between 2018 and 2019, the European Commission's Joint Research Service (JRC) compared a set of branded food products sold under the same name and in the same or similar packaging across Member States. The analysis sought to determine whether, despite the identical or similar packaging, there were differences in product composition and, if so, whether those differences corresponded to any geographical pattern.

See more on this topic by visiting our <a href="https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/dual-quality-of-products-8th-parliamentary-term_7601_pk">package</a> for the 8th parliamentary term.

Dual quality of products

In April 2018, the European Commission adopted a proposal on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the food supply chain.

It stems from the consensus that unfair trading practices occur in the food supply chain, with smaller operators more vulnerable to these practices due to a weaker bargaining power compared to larger operators. The proposal focuses therefore on smaller actors in the food supply chain and aims to protect them from trading practices that are imposed unilaterally. The protection covers small and medium-sized agricultural producers and other SME suppliers in the chain and imposed rules constraining the behaviour of buyers which are not SMEs.

#EUelections2019 - Helping farmers, ending unfair trading practices

EP plenary session - Dual quality of products in the Single Market

IMCO committee meeting. Vote on Dual quality of products in the Single Market.

IMCO committee meeting - Vote on Dual quality of products in the Single Market

During the plenary session of the European Parliament (10-13/09/2018) in Strasbourg, MEPs debate and vote on dual quality of products in the Single Market. Statements by Olga SEHNALOVÁ (S&D, CZ), Rapporteur, Biljana BORZAN (S&D, HR), Rapporteur from ENVI, Vytenis ANDRIUKAITIS, Member of the EC in charge of Health and Food Safety, and Nicola DANTI (S&D, IT). Vote. Illustrative shots: supermarket in Estonia, meat products, fish fingers and beauty products, supermarket in Croatia, chocolate spread, coffee, baby food, detergents.

Dual quality of products in the Single Market: extracts from the debate, from the vote and illustrative pictures

This infoclip shows images of a supermarket in Croatia (Zagreb), branded products (chocolate spread, hamburgers, coffee, cosmetics and laundry detergents) and their list of ingredients. Also a family preparing dinner, eating and washing laundry.

Infoclip: Dual quality of products in the Single Market (Croatia)

This infoclip shows images of a supermarket in Estonia (Tallinn), branded products like fish fingers and cosmetics, and their list of ingredients.

Infoclip: Dual quality of products in the Single Market (Estonia)

During the meeting of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO), MEPs vote on the report by Olga SEHNALOVÁ (S&D, CZ) on dual quality of products in the Single Market. Extracts from the vote and from the statement by the rapporteur.

dual quality of products (T)

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