Inspectors of the Consumer Protection Agency established that four of the 31 samples of frozen fish examined contained half fish and half water. In another seven samples, the water represented the third part of the product, IPN reports.
Consumer Protection Agency director Alexandru Cuzimuc told a news conference that the samples were taken from a number of shopping centers after they received complaints from consumers.
“The people buy fish, but pay for water. Some of the producers do not even declare what percentage of water the product contains. This is tax evasion and cheating of the consumers,” said Alexandru Cuzimuc.
He also said that a normative document specifying the percentage of water is needed as no violation can be penalized in its absence. “The water should not exceed 7-12% of the product, but some of the producers treble this norm,” stated Alexandru Cuzimuc.
He called on the consumers to read attentively the label and to avoid the products that do not have the percentage of water indicated on them. As a result of the inspections, the producers will be punished with a fine of up to 10,000 lei for not indicating the water content in the frozen fish.
