Borzan: Honey and Organic Food are the Most Common Products that Deceive Consumers

Honey and organic food are the most common products that deceive consumers, said Member of the European Parliament Biljana Borzan, who considers this practice 'double crime'.

– Often, imported honey is adulterated by adding sugar syrup. As for food from organic farming, fraud is also very often discovered during inspections. This is a double crime, it is illegal, and people often choose organic products for health reasons, so you actually deceive a sick person – said Biljana Borzan (SDP/S&D), rapporteur for the ‘from farm to table’ initiative. 

According to her, citizens prefer domestic products, which traders exploit because the current legal frameworks allow insufficiently defined labels, such as domestic product and EU/non-EU mixture.

– The labels are insufficiently defined, so 99 percent of honey can be from the Solar System, and one percent from the European Union –  she ironically said. 

Currently there are no penalties for incorrectly labeled products, but Borzan believes this needs to change.

– This is now a gray area. It can be done, but we need to change it. The consumer must not be deceived; it is essential that they receive the correct information – she added. 

Regarding declarations, according to Borzan’s research, citizens say they do not understand them.

Welcomes the Government’s Decision and Announces 27 New Laws

The European representative of the SDP welcomed the government’s decision to limit prices.

– I welcome the government’s decision to limit prices, although it conflicts with another law, according to which this is not allowed, so traders are withdrawing products. Until now, our only measure has been a tax reduction, which has not affected the prices of products for the end user – said Borzan.

The European Commission presented the ‘from farm to table’ strategy in May 2020, aiming to achieve a sustainable food system in the EU and climate neutrality by 2050.

One of the main goals of the initiative is also to combat food fraud.

– Our goal is that when a citizen goes to the store, they receive information about what the product is, where it comes from, and what its health quality is, in a simple and quick way, and that they can make the best choice through quick selection – she said. 

Everything we obtained in the research will be part of my legislative initiatives in the EP for which I have already laid the foundations in the ‘from farm to table’ strategy.

– We have committed to changing 27 laws – concluded Borzan.