Cozonaci with 21 E's and commercial additions “insensitive” / how consumers are deceived in stores

The National Authority for Consumer Protection has analyzed over 20 assortments of cozonac from the big chains of stores and has found products full of E-EIs. For his part, Aurel Popescu, the president of the patronage in the Rompan bakery industry, points out that the shops swell the prices of the cozonac and practice “uninitiated” commercial additions.

ANPC has analyzed 20 assortments of cozonac, produced by own units or suppliers in the private sector for networks such as Carrefour, Auchan, Mega Image, Penny.

“Products containing up to 21 different additives have been identified, including dough, filling and icing. This raises question marks on the natural origin and the quality of the products, especially in the case of products presented as” traditional “or” home “, say ANPC representatives.

At the same time, many producers use premixes without mentioning the real proportion of active ingredient (eg nut), which may mislead the consumer regarding the real content of the filling. In some cases, the effective nut percentage is clearly inferior to the perception created.

ANPC makes some recommendations:

• Read the product label carefully, this should provide you with all the information you want and you need to make the purchase decision;
• The purchase of the products will be made only from authorized places, where the marketing spaces must be permanently clean and well maintained;
• The personnel who sell pastry products must wear sanitary protective equipment, respectively protective and cap, and the handling of the products should be done with the hands covered by clean or disposable gloves;
• The unpacked pastry products will be sold from clean containers, dust shelter and insects, being served only with special utensils. It is forbidden to allow consumers to choose the products by hand;
• The pastry products must be mentioned on the label, necessarily, the list of allergenic ingredients, as well as the presence of certain premixes, in the composition, or of ingredients that replace the classic ones;
• For pre -packaged pastries, the minimum durability date is established by the manufacturer and will be inscribed on the label/packaging.

Manufacturers complain that shops swell the price of cozonac

The pastors estimate that fewer cozonacs will bake during the Easter holidays due to the higher costs registered after eliminating the fiscal facilities in the food industry, but also of the high commercial additions practiced by some traders, said Aurel Popescu, the president of the Romanian employer in the milling industry, Paninoasa and Paninoasa, for Agerpres.

• “This year we believe that we make fewer cozonacs because the costs of the producers are higher, but also the commercial additions practiced by some traders are often unintended. Honestly, I cannot say otherwise. You cannot sell a cozonac leaving the producer with 60 lei, selling it to the store with 140 lei.
• Some blame VAT, because it is 19%, but it is not true, in the cozonac is 9%. It is not good to put the hand in the buyer's pocket. If you go to the market and buy red with 45 lei or a cherry with two lei, that's your job, but for these products and during this period, be more indulgent with the client. And I don't want to talk about the price for confectioner.
• Indeed the cocoa has increased harder, but the walnut has about the same price, the sugar is even lower at the price, and in the flour we have very good prices, “said Popescu.

He said that the elimination of tax facilities in the food industry influenced the costs of the producers, on average, by 18%, and they had to increase the price for milling and bakery products in order not to work.

Photo source: Dreamstime