[INTERVIEW] Biljana Borzan: We need systematic oversight and promotion of healthy food, institutions are not doing enough in this regard

Recently, we have been increasingly learning through the media that certain food products have been withdrawn from store shelves, including those with organic and eco labels. However, what remains unknown to most is why this is happening more frequently than before and how to react to it.

In this regard, we spoke with Biljana Borzan, a Croatian Member of the European Parliament and a member of the SDP. She prioritizes the protection of consumer rights in the European market, achieving equality, and maintaining a healthy life, which is insufficient in Croatia, especially regarding food.

Lately, there have been more notifications that some food products are being withdrawn from store shelves due to non-compliance. How do you comment on this? Why is this happening?

Since September 2020, the European RASFF, a system for timely alerting in the food sector, has warned of multiple entries of shipments of sesame contaminated with ethylene oxide into the European market. Food contaminated with this compound has most frequently come from India, where the use of ethylene oxide in the food industry is permitted.

At the end of June, the European Commission reassessed the situation, particularly the presence of ethylene oxide in the additive E410 derived from carob seeds. Ethylene oxide may have been applied as a pesticide for carob or as a sterilizer for preparation, or both. Since E410 is widely used in the ice cream industry for stabilizing ice cream, enhanced controls on ice cream have begun, with orders to withdraw only those ice creams in which ethylene oxide is found in the final product.

The European Union has prescribed a maximum allowable concentration of ethylene oxide, with a decision that it is zero. If the compound exists in traces, the product is withdrawn. This means that in the withdrawn products, an unauthorized concentration of that substance has been detected, but it does not indicate the concentration that would currently harm someone’s health.

Do you believe that the relevant institutions in Croatia are doing enough to protect consumers when it comes to food? Is there anything more that can be done, in your opinion?

I believe that the institutions of the Republic of Croatia are not doing enough; the information I have indicates that the number of inspections has decreased compared to a few years ago. Without systematic oversight, even the best regulations in the world will be difficult to implement, and I believe that inspections need to be given greater human and material resources to do their job.

Furthermore, I believe that more can be done to promote healthier food and that more attention should be paid to protecting children and young people from aggressive marketing that promotes unhealthy products. I have long advocated for children to be prohibited from purchasing energy drinks; we recently had a tragedy that could have been avoided. Additionally, there should be better regulation of what can be sold near schools, and more resources should be invested in programs for the distribution of fruits, vegetables, and milk that are co-financed by the EU.

Who is responsible for placing products of questionable quality in stores and their control, and is anyone making mistakes?

Everyone in the production and sales chain is responsible, as well as the relevant bodies that need to conduct inspections. Although it seems counterintuitive, the news that contaminated and potentially contaminated products have been found and withdrawn actually means that the system is functioning. I would be more concerned if there were no such news because there is no chance that all goods on the market comply with all regulations. This is not possible; regulations are violated daily, both due to objective circumstances and human greed and indolence.

How does this entire situation affect citizens, can they feel safe?

Although domestic products are not immune to contamination and occasional problems, I personally believe that it is always better to buy domestic products from producers you know and trust. The mere fact that a product did not have to travel hundreds or thousands of kilometers in a truck or container reduces the chances of contamination.

When it comes to ethylene oxide in food, a consumer would have to consume, for example, contaminated products every day of their life, and in large quantities, for health to be endangered. Therefore, there is no room for panic; it is necessary to strengthen the inspection oversight of products that have entered the EU from third countries and are at risk of containing this compound, for example, if they contain the additive E410.

When we look at a global level, food safety in the EU is at a satisfactory level; it is enough to look across the Atlantic to the wealthy and developed America, which has many more problems with this. Not to mention third countries.

Is anyone responsible for placing food of questionable quality and are the sanctions adequate?

Punishment for food fraud has been significantly tightened by new regulations that have been in effect since May. By applying the regulations, the EU requires member states to financially punish food fraud at least to the extent of the illegally obtained profit or a percentage of total earnings. Penalties must be deterrent to avoid situations where the maximum legal penalty for food fraud is less than the profit made from fraud or dishonest actions. There have been cases where dishonest traders found it profitable to deceive consumers because the illegal profit was several times greater than the fines. In addition to legal proceedings, anyone who has been harmed can also seek compensation and satisfaction privately.

There are many health food stores that market food products with eco and organic labels, and in the end, it turns out that they also contain pesticides and other harmful ingredients. How is it possible that this happens, shouldn’t they go through additional checks?

This segment is attractive to ‘fraudsters’ because organic food is significantly more expensive than conventional. When someone who is ill buys organic food but is sold pesticide-treated food, that is, in my opinion, equivalent to poisoning.

The production process itself is relatively well controlled. Organic producers are under strict controls and undergo mandatory inspections of fields and facilities as prescribed by the EU, but the problem often arises at the sales stage, or reselling. Even if we had three times more inspections and checks, there would still be those willing to gamble with citizens’ health for profit, so I believe that deterrent penalties and naming the culprits are necessary.

Can fraud in product labeling be prevented, and how?

Transparency, digitalization, and strict enforcement of regulations are the solutions. Recently, I had a meeting with representatives of the Croatian company VeeMee, which has developed an outstanding food traceability system. A customer can find out everything about the product they are buying, from field to table, with just a few clicks on their mobile phone. I know that they have submitted the project to our Ministry of Agriculture, and I hope they have taken it seriously into consideration.

Your research has shown that some products coming to the Croatian market are of lower quality than in other countries. Is there generally a difference in food quality between Eastern and Western Europe, and how can this be regulated?

The research I conducted showed that differences exist, and this was confirmed by an analysis from the European Commission. In the last mandate, we adopted an amendment to the law on unfair commercial practices, which prohibits placing products of different quality in the same packaging on the EU market. We planned to conduct an impact review after the law’s implementation. If such products continue to appear on the market, we will take additional measures. Currently, the European Commission is cooperating with national bodies to ensure that the new rules are implemented as effectively as possible.

How does the ‘From Farm to Fork’ project work?

The way we produce and consume food in Europe will change significantly over the next decade. Production, processing, packaging, transportation, and sale of food products have a strong impact on the environment. To ensure that our essential resources – soil, water, and air – remain fertile, healthy, and clean, a transition to sustainable food production along the entire supply chain is necessary.

As the rapporteur for the Euro-Socialists, my goal is for this reform to benefit everyone involved – consumers in terms of health, quality, and availability; producers economically; and nature ecologically. I will fight for the strong promotion of locally grown products, as the most sustainable and nutritious food is that which travels the shortest distance from farm to table. Our farmers need to be more effectively protected from the import of products that do not comply with European standards, both current and future.

Next week, we will vote in the committee, and the entire Parliament will vote in October, after which the European Commission will begin amending the laws and regulations covered by the strategy. The process will take the next few years, as it involves about twenty directives and regulations that are being amended.

The EU plans to introduce common labels for nutritious products on packaging. What will this mean for consumers, and will this label also affect the price of products?

In 2022, the European Commission will propose a unified labeling system for the entire European market, aimed at better informing citizens and combating the growing problem of obesity and related diseases. Due to unhealthy diets, primarily from heart diseases and cancer, more than 950,000 people died in the EU in 2017, and Croatia is doing much worse than average. New labels will help consumers more easily find healthier products on the shelves, for example, to choose the more nutritious ones among 10 corn flakes. However, the labels must be noticeable, easily understandable, and based on scientific knowledge.

The labels should not affect the price, but research from France, which has introduced labels on a voluntary basis, indicates that consumers are more likely to choose products with labels over those without.

What are your further plans in actions aimed at protecting and promoting the health of citizens?

Since I have been in the European Parliament, I have been fighting for healthy and quality food, and I plan to continue doing so because my job is to make the EU work for the people. In the next few years, several important laws arising from the ‘From Farm to Fork’ strategy will come to our agenda, such as the previously mentioned nutritional value labels.

I will also work on an interesting law that regulates so-called nutritional profiles. Namely, it is currently possible to label a very unhealthy product, such as a fruit yogurt full of added sugar, with the statement ‘contains calcium which is good for bones.’ And that is factually correct, but it deceives the consumer into thinking it is a healthy product. Nutritional profiles should standardize which products can carry positive health claims, meaning that only truly nutritious and healthy products can do so.

{embed_digitalno_izdanje}{/embed_digitalno_izdanje}