Sutaj Estok: Slovaks Should Be Informed about Origin of Food They Purchase

Bratislava, February 13 (TASR) - More than one billion food items were imported from outside the European union (EU) last year, while the figure was only 500 million in 2013, and Slovaks should be informed about the origin of the food they buy, stated Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) at a press conference on Thursday, adding that MPs from the Voice-SD party, along with the Slovak Agricultural and Food Chamber (SPPK), have joined a European initiative against fake food. "We, the only parliamentary party to do so, have decided to organise a call for broad support for a European citizens' initiative called 'One million signatures against fake food'. This initiative pushes for changes in European legislation to prevent food origins from being concealed and information from being withheld on where food, consumed also by our children, has been processed," said Sutaj Estok. According to the minister, only 67 percent of the eggs in the shops are from Slovakia, while nearly half of the bottles of mineral water sold come from other countries. With this initiative, Voice-SD wants to support domestic producers in particular. Sutaj Estok stressed that the state will enforce the right of access to food information so that people can read on the product packaging where the crop was grown. This information should also be available on restaurant menus. lin/df