Bratislava – In 2023, more than a billion food items were imported from non-EU countries, compared to 500 million in 2013. Slovaks should be informed about the origin of the sold food, and thus, coalition MPs from the Hlas-SD party, along with the Slovak Agricultural and Food Chamber (SPPK), supported the European citizens’ initiative against fake food. This was stated by Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok (Hlas-SD) at a press conference on Thursday, reports TASR.
The European Commission registered the citizens’ initiative titled “Stop Fake Food: Origin on Label” in July 2024.
“As the only parliamentary party, we decided to organize a call for broad support of the European citizens’ initiative titled one million signatures against fake food. This initiative aims to enforce changes within European legislation that will prevent the concealment of food origins as well as concealment of information about where these foods, which our children also consume, were processed,” said Šutaj Eštok.
According to him, currently, stores offer only 67% of Slovak eggs, and nearly half of the mineral waters sold in Slovakia come from other countries. With this initiative, Hlas-SD wishes to support domestic producers in particular. Šutaj Eštok emphasized that the state will advocate for the right to access information about food so that people can read on the product label where the crop was grown, and this should also be available on restaurant menus.
Member of the European Parliament (EP) for Hlas-SD Branislav Ondruš added that in February 2023, around 800 to 1000 trucks with food came to Slovakia daily to warehouses, not just delivering citrus fruits, but also eggs, pork, or vegetables that can be produced domestically. Last autumn, this number grew to nearly 1500 trucks daily. In the case of bakery products, this is more than 5500 trucks annually.
“Identifying the origin of food, as well as the state of processing, is extremely important information, also because brutally different rules operate worldwide, affecting how and what technologies are used in food processing,” concluded Ondruš. He added that Slovaks can support the initiative through a form on the website www.milionpodpisov.sk. (February 13)
“This is an initiative to enforce changes within European legislation that will prevent the concealment of food origins as well as concealment of information about where these foods, which our children also consume, were processed.” Matúš Šutaj Eštok.
