On October 14, 2020, ANPC convened a public debate on the draft Order on the sale of bread and bulk bakery products. The president and general director of ANPC participated in the online meeting together with representatives from ROMPAN, the large commercial networks, the Ministry of Agriculture, ANSVSA, consumer associations and the press. The purpose of the debate was to analyze observations and proposals on the normative act to be issued.
ANPC Order underlines the importance of informing consumers about non-packaged food products and those containing ingredients that may cause adverse effects. " We believe that, through the draft normative act, a better protection of the health and life of Romanian consumers is ensured, as well as informing them about the substances or products that can cause allergies or intolerance in the case of bread and bakery products sold in bulk", transmits the National Authority for Consumer Protection.
More specifically, the ANPC order proposes the following:
1. Establishing the conditions that must be respected when selling bread and bakery products, bulk.
2. Prohibition of the sale of unwrapped bread and bakery products by "self-service" by the consumer. The economic operator who puts these types of products on the market has the obligation to have a dedicated person who will supply, upon request, the product to the consumer ("assisted sale").
3. The obligation of economic operators, who sell bread and bakery products in bulk, to display the following elements in the sales structures: the name under which the product is sold, the name of the supplier, the net quantity/piece, the retail price (expressed in lei/ piece), price per unit of measure (expressed in lei/kg.), components with allergenic effects.
The debate on the above-mentioned issue took place online, on the ZOOM platform, and lasted about 2 hours.
Following the discussions, the preliminary conclusions are as follows:
• 11 associations, including ROMPAN, do not agree to the promotion of this draft order, with the mention that where they sell bulk products, the marketing should be assisted or in such a way as to ensure the protection of the products from any contamination (the use of tongs for serving, the packaging of disposable etc.)
• 1 commercial company (VEL PITAR) and 2 associations for consumer protection (Association Prezuiește Calitatea and Association ProConsumator) I support the promotion of the project.
In the following days, ANPC will analyze the conclusions resulting from the consultations and will pronounce on the decision to be taken.
