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The National Consumer Protection Authority has introduced in a public debate an order to prohibit the sale of bread and bakery products not prepackaged by self-service.
The order refers to the sale of bread and bakery products in bulk in the country.
The reason: Unpackaged bread could be a source of transmission of the COVID-19 virus. It could reach the consumer as a result of the manufacturing process and as a result of outdoor exposure to bravery, but especially if a person carrying the virus touches it during handling and transportation.
The bill was prepared by the General Directorate of Control and Supervision of the ANPC.
The initiative entered into public debate on Wednesday, October 14, 2020. According to it, the economic operator that markets the product would have the obligation to deliver it through “assisted sales”, “through a dedicated person, who will provide, upon request, the product”. to the consumer “.
The ANPC draft order establishes: “We consider that, through the draft normative act, a better protection of the health and life of consumers in Romania is guaranteed, as well as their information on substances or products that can cause allergies or intolerances in the case of bread and bakery products sold directly in bulk, information designed to protect consumers who suffer from various allergies ”.
What conditions must bakers meet
The order that came into debate on Wednesday, published on the ANPC website, establishes the conditions that must be observed when selling bread and bakery products in bulk.
“For bakery and bakery products that are not presented, for sale, in a sanitary packaging, the economic operator that markets the product has the obligation to supply these products through” assisted sales “, respectively through a dedicated person, upon request, the product to the consumer. (…) The marketing of unpackaged bread and bakery products through “self-service” is prohibited for each consumer. (…) When selling bread and bakery products in bulk, economic operators are obliged to display in the sales structures the following elements: – the name under which the product is sold; – name of the supplier; – net quantity / piece; – retail price, expressed in lei / piece; – price per unit of measure, expressed in lei / kg; – components with allergenic effects ”, is shown in the bill.
The order will enter into force within 30 days following the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
Reacția președintelui ROMPAN
On the other hand, on September 26, the director general of the National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC), Paul Anghel, stated that there is no evidence that the Sars-Cov-2 virus is transmitted through food consumption, and the preliminary results of a study carried out in this regard by the University of Bucharest contradicts the statements of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
In this context, the president of the Association of Romanian Employers of the Milling, Bakery and Flour Products Industry – ROMPAN, Aurel Popescu affirms that bakery and bakery products manufactured and sold by Romanian economic agents are not a vector of transmission of coronavirus.
In his opinion, the appearance of “totally false” information about the possibility of transmitting the virus through bread raises suspicions that there are other interests related to the increase in sales of packaged bread and especially imported bakery products.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have said that so far there is no evidence that the Sars-Cov 2 virus is transmitted through the consumption of food or bread.
The prices of bakery products are increasing
The price of bakery products could rise in the next period, as 2020 will go down in history as one of the most difficult agricultural years.
“Prices have gone up a lot. We are at a lion per kilogram of wheat. We have prices higher than the world market, than foreign exchange prices. Consequently, you must match the prices of finished products with the prices of raw materials. If the participation of the raw material is 50% in the price of the product and it has become 25% more expensive, everyone makes their calculations and sees how much it is influenced, “said Aurel Popescu, president of ROMPAN, for B1.ro.
