Abstract:

Food safety is an essential consumer right, having direct effects on the health and quality of life of citizens. The temptation of higher incomes and the gaps in consumer education can fuel the phenomenon of food fraud. Last year Romania has been affected by illicit practices in the field of confectionery production, which led to actions of verification of economic agents and to measures of sanctioning fraudulent cases in the production and marketing of these products. The paper presents research on food frauds in the manufacture and marketing of pastry and confectionery products in Romania, as well as the sanctions and measures applied to regulate the market. Between 2018 and 2019, were checked more than 500 specialized units, out of the 6,000 specialized companies in Romania, with over 400 fraudulent situations and of consumer misinformation being found. The total amount of the fines granted exceeded 300,000 Euro, the manufacturing licenses issued to some economic agents were cancelled and the non-compliant products were banned from marketing.