Prime Minister Marcel Cholaku said on Monday that the government was considering a deal with retailers to extend the ban on additives to staple foods. “Now we have the experience, we’ve started coordination and maybe we can come up with something that will work, not as a regulation, but as a gentleman’s agreement,” Cholaku said.

The expansion of the ceiling is through an agreement with retailers, not through legislation

On Monday, Prime Minister Marcel Čolaka was asked whether the government intends to increase restrictions on additions to essential products and expand the list of those products.

• “I am looking at a deal with retailers like France did, as we proposed the first time. We now have the experience, we have started to agree and maybe think what will work is not a regulation, but a gentleman’s agreement.
• It is important that the prices have not increased, this can be seen from the INS. – said Marcel Cholak.

Will more products be added to this master list?

• “I wish. Next is the Minister of Agriculture to… We would like it to continue, at least for basic products.” the prime minister also noted.

The government is considering expanding the limit of allowances for basic food products

The government is considering expanding a program to limit commercial additives to staple foods, executive spokesman Mihai Konstantin said on Friday.

• “There is a discussion. First, we are halfway through the implementation period of the regulatory act, which has already begun. We saw the expected and desired evolution of the implementation of this regulatory act. And, yes, the expansion of this program is under consideration,” Kostyantyn said, asking after the Government meeting about the possibility of extending the program to limit commercial additives to basic food products.

The measure entered into force on August 1 for a period of three months.

A spokesman for the executive branch said there is a possibility that the list of products included in the program will be expanded or changed.

• “It is very possible, but more than that, I cannot tell you at this time that this list may change, may be expanded or some products may be replaced by others, as well as a different principle according to which this decision will be made. The extension of this application, as it happened in the initial case, after a very careful and open consultation with the major retailers and processors in the country, so that the requirements or norms of this regulatory act are realistic and have concrete results in the daily basket of Romanian consumers”, added Mihai Constantin .

Since August 1, commercial allowances for 14 groups of food products have been limited for a period of 3 months, an emergency order to stop the rise in prices for basic food products was adopted by the Government on June 30, 2023.

Food products that will benefit from the reduction of commercial quotas for addition, discussed and agreed with all parties involved in the production and trade of food products, are:

• ordinary white bread 300 – 500 grams, without dishes;
• fresh cow’s milk 1.5% fat, 1 l;
• Bulk Telemea cow’s cheese;
• natural yogurt from cow’s milk, fat content 3.5%, maximum 200 grams;
• white wheat flour “000” 1 kg;
• sorghum 1 kg;
• M caliber chicken eggs 10 pcs.;
• sunflower oil 1 liter;
• fresh chicken meat (whole chicken, chicken cutlets, whole boneless chicken thighs, chicken wings);
• fresh pork (processed meat, shank with and without bone, sirloin);
• loose fresh vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow onions, dried beans, carrots, bell peppers, capsicum);
• wholesale fresh fruit (red and golden apples, plums, watermelon, table grapes);
• fresh white potatoes in bulk;
• white sugar 1 kg.

The procedure for forming the shelf price for these products should be uniform, both for goods of manufacturers’ own brands and for goods of own brands. Commercial allowances are applied to the VAT-exempt value of the agricultural and food products provided, specified in the draft regulatory act.

Failure to comply with the provisions is a misdemeanor, unless it was committed under such conditions that it is a crime under criminal law, and is punishable by a fine of 100,000 lei to 2,000,000 lei.