EU – Baltic States, Foodstuff, Latvia, Legislation, Markets and Companies

He said that PVD is inspecting import sweets and dairy product samples, analyzing labels and comparing them to the same brand products sold in Western Europe.

Meistere said that it is too early to tell how much inspection and tests of product samples will cost. The tests will be run in the laboratory of Latvia's Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment Bior.

As reported, the Food and Veterinary Service in September started to examine imported sweets, dairy products and probably also coffee to make sure that they are of the same quality as their analogues that are sold in Western Europe.

The quality of products of the same brands sold in Latvia and other EU member states will be analyzed after the revelation made by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on September 13 that products sold in some parts of the EU are of inferior quality as compared to the products of the same brands sold in other countries, even though their packaging and brands are identical.

"It is not acceptable when products of the same brand sold in various EU member states differ by their quality. If the European Commission president’s words about selling lower quality food products in some EU member states, including Latvia, prove to be true, I will propose amendments to EU laws that would ban food companies from making food products of the same brand but of different standards," said Latvian Agriculture Minister Janis Duklavs (Greens/Farmers).

In his annual State of the Union speech on September 13, Juncker slammed the dual standards of food quality and said that some of the products sold in Central and Eastern Europe are of inferior quality than those of the same brands sold in Western Europe, even though quality standards should be the same across the bloc.