The Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH (VTKBiH), through its sector groups, launched an initiative related to the need for a clearer separation of products of plant and animal origin in stores.
When products are clearly labeled and properly separated, the risk of confusion, wrong purchase and potential health consequences is reduced, especially for sensitive groups of consumers, such as people with lactose intolerance, allergies or special dietary regimes. Often on store shelves you can find products of vegetable origin such as “butter”, “milk drinks”, “cream” and even “milk”. In addition to the risk of deception, there is also the issue of unfair competition because plant-based products are not subject to the same production standards as dairy products.
The Chamber actively participates in that process by initiating an expert dialogue between producers, traders and competent institutions, monitoring EU regulations and making recommendations for improving domestic regulations and their application in practice.
– The main goal of the regulatory harmonization initiative is to improve consumer protection through clear and unambiguous labeling, as well as the physical separation of products of plant and animal origin in retail, while at the same time strengthening market transparency and harmonizing domestic practice with European Union standards. Harmonization of domestic practice with European Union standards, especially in the area of consumer information about food, aims to strengthen customer confidence in the market and the retail sector – they told Fena from VTKBiH.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are regulations that regulate labeling and informing consumers about food, first of all the Ordinance on informing consumers about food, which is largely harmonized with the legal acquis of the European Union. Those regulations clearly regulate the obligation of accurate product declaration and the prohibition of misleading names. However, domestic regulations currently do not contain an explicit obligation to physically separate products of plant and animal origin on the shelves, which in practice leads to inconsistent application and confusion among consumers. At the initiative of the Chamber, the Food Safety Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina launched the Draft Rulebook on additional requirements for labeling and placing on the market products containing palm oil, palm oil and other vegetable oils and fats, which governs the area of special declaration of the mentioned products.
VTKBiH also recognizes the challenges faced by small and medium-sized traders – limited sales space, additional costs and the lack of clear binding guidelines. He sees the solution in education, making recommendations and gradually introducing the practice of separating products in a way that is sustainable and adapted to the domestic market.
– This not only protects the consumer, but also strengthens competitiveness and confidence in the domestic retail sector – VTKBiH pointed out.
