A scandal has been gaining momentum in the new EU member states. The scandal erupted last year when the countries from the Visegrad Group alarmed that some food products sold in the new EU member states were of poorer quality as compared to those sold on the markets in the old member states. The EU initiated large-scale inspections which found significant difference in the quality of the foods sold in the new EU countries and the old member states. Following the wave of protests in Central and Eastern Europe, Brussels promised to take the necessary measures to deal with the situation.

Bulgaria makes no exception to the group of the countries which were indignant at the attempts of the multinational companies to divide the European citizens into two categories-first and second quality. Moreover, it turned out that some foods and other items are sold at higher prices in the poorer and less developed part of the EU. The competent authorities in Bulgaria made several inspections and analyses of the content of the imported food products sold on the Bulgarian market and compared it to the identical items sold on the market in Western Europe. The results of the latest inspection of the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture and Food were announced recently and triggered large-scale public discontent and disapproval. It turned out that some items and foods are sold at much higher price as compared to the identical products in Western Europe. Moreover, the chemical composition of the food items sold in Bulgaria is different from their equivalents sold in the old member states. For instance, the authorities found palm oil in the baby milk sold on the Bulgarian market. However, palm oil is by no means a traditional food on the Bulgarian table and is merely used in food products, because it is cheaper and of lower quality. Thus, it turns out that the poorer people buy more expensive items of lower quality. That is why a Bulgarian MEP even mentioned the expression Food Apartheid.

But how multinational companies explain cases like this one? At first glance, this widely-used practice is even praiseworthy, because we are talking about adaptation of various products to the specifics of the local markets. It is quite clear that the British citizens and the Bulgarians for instance have different food habits, taste and preferences. From this aspect, the manufacture of a given product in line with the specifics of the local market is quite logical. However, it cannot be done at the expense of lower quality and higher prices. Firstly, the companies do not have well-grounded arguments to sell at higher prices in countries and markets where people receive lower incomes and are less solvent. Secondly, the difference in the chemical composition of given items does not mean that the manufacturers should use lower-quality materials and ingredients. And this is exactly the problem of the abovementioned scandal. The whole behavior of the multinational companies has an economic explanation. The markets in Central and Eastern Europe are smaller and it is not so efficient to develop specific products for them, because they would cost a lot, unless you put prices up. Apparently, we are talking about such an approach in this case-the companies are making Eastern European versions of given products with lower-quality ingredients and sell them more expensive, because the “product is tailored to the specifics of the local market”. Thus, we are witnessing double standards in foods and consumers are divided into first and second category people. This is unacceptable in the European Union. That is why Brussels promised to adopt urgently an EU directive which would end this vicious practice.

Otherwise, the Eastern European consumers, including the ones in Bulgaria, are not against the food products of the transnational companies which have flooded the market, because these products are well-established on the global markets. Moreover, some of these giant companies opened factories in Bulgaria and employ a lot of Bulgarians.

However, the unpleasant feeling of discrimination and disparagement remains, yet no one likes to be treated as lower-category person.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov