Dual quality of products in the single market

Summary:

The European Parliament approved in September 2018 a Report which recommends several measures at EU and national levels to tackle the 'dual quality' problem.

Further information:

The Rapporteur of this document argues that, if a firm sells a product EU-wide, but with compositions that differ between countries, it must not label and brand it in a seemingly identical way, as this may mislead consumers. MEPs call for increasing cross-border cooperation and data-sharing, including on potentially non-compliant products and possible unfair practices, among national consumer protection and food authorities, consumer associations and the European Commission. In this context, the Parliament welcomed a set of proposals put forward earlier in the year.

The Report was produced following the uncovering of a reality in which products advertised and sold under the same brand and seemingly identical packaging in fact differed in composition and ingredients, to the detriment of consumers particularly in central and eastern European countries.

Official

European Parliament: Press Release, 12.07.18: Consumer product quality: MEPs take aim at dual standards http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20180711IPR07740/

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