EU to fight double food standards

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Thursday that the same food products should have the same ingredients throughout the whole European Union, signing with several CEE countries who are fed up with being sold the inferior products. “"I don't like the idea that there would be some kind of second category in Europe,” Juncker explained. Several studies have shown that many of the foods sold by multinational producers in eastern Europe contain cheaper, lower-quality ingredients than the identically branded versions sold in the west. Juncker said he would issue guidelines on how to interpret the existing food safety directive in September, but did not rule out new legislation. Food producers argue that different markets have different tastes and that since consumers in the east are generally less wealthy than in the west, they need to keep the prices down. Food is about 25 percent cheaper in Czechia than in Germany.