Major food and beverage companies in the world sell less healthy products to low-income countries than they sell to rich countries, writes Reuters. That’s the conclusion of a report published by the organization Nutrition Access Initiative, and it should be cause for concern. This, all the more so as the stores in Romania, for example, are full of imported products, while local producers barely make their presence felt on the market.
Imported food, cheap and less healthy. Source: archive
The non-profit group found that products sold in poor countries scored lower on a star rating system than those sold in high-income countries. In the Health Star Rating system, products are ranked from 1 to 5 according to their health status, with 5 being the best score and one above 3.5 being considered a healthier choice.
In low-income countries, the food sold by these companies scored 1.8. In high-income countries, where more products were tested, they scored 2.3.
Economic analyst: “It’s all about purchasing power”
“At the end of the day, it’s all about purchasing power. Because to produce quality food, the recipe costs you more than if you were to produce something cheap, and these extra costs are reflected in the price. Manufacturers and retailers do a very simple calculation. What do I want to do? Should I sell volumes, that is, make a profit from this thing, or should I come up with products at a high price and stay with them on the shelf?”, economic analyst Adrian Negrescu explains the situation.
“Everything boils down to the ratio between prices and sales, and from this perspective Romania is a very poor country. We have among the lowest salaries in Europe, which is why the products made by the big companies for us are as cheap as possible to be accessible. This is not the fault of the traders or the producers, it is the fault of the authorities. As long as we do not encourage companies from a fiscal point of view to offer higher wages, we will wake up with this offer worthy of a third-rate country”the specialist for “Adevărul” also specified.
Why domestic products are not competitive
And whoever thinks that the rescue could come from the domestic market, is fooling himself, because quality Romanian products are even more expensive than those that we could import. The reason? “In Romania, production costs are very high. Romanian manufacturers pay the most expensive electricity for companies in Europe, the price of gas is higher than in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, and fuels have recorded the highest price increase in Europe this year. To these costs should be added the triple increase of the minimum wage in the last two years”, says the expert.
Why are the import offers cheaper? The explanation is very simple, according to the economic analyst: “Let me give you some examples. Poland has a National Apple Program, through which it offers four times more subsidies to growers than in Romania. In France, agricultural subsidies are five times higher than here. Of course, export sales prices are also lower. What the Romanian state is doing at the moment is a suicidal measure. We’ve had three successive tax increases on top of the minimum wage in the last two years.”
Romanians should know what to buy and what to avoid
Maria Mesaroș, president of the Federation of Diabetic Associations in Romania, believes that people should be educated about the risks of an unhealthy diet: “We cannot fight this practice of the big manufacturers, instead we have the power to choose what is best and healthiest for us. We must get into the habit of reading food labels carefully, knowing what we are eating and how much we are eating. And here I would involve the specialists, who should step out and educate”.
Maria Mesaroș also places this responsibility on the shoulders of parents who should teach their children how to eat as healthily as possible: “I think the first lesson would be to go to the shops with them and read together food labels. And to explain to the children why we buy this and that. This is how prevention begins.”
The consumption of poor quality food products leads, over time, to health problems, and the population may face, in the long term, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. “More and more Romanians up to the age of 50 have serious health problems, and nutrition plays an overwhelming role here. It’s a shame that we are considered a third-rate country, but in the end that’s the truth. We are poor,” stated the president of the Federation of Diabetic Associations.
Doctor: “We can eat healthy and with little money”
Dr. Eduard Adamescu, a doctor specializing in diabetes, nutrition and metabolic diseases, believes that it is not low-quality food products that affect public health, but our lack of education: “What each of us does individually is very important. Our education, awareness of the dangers and their avoidance are of great importance here. If we want to prevent obesity, for example, this is a problem of education at the level of society, but also at the level of each individual. We can eat less and better. You don’t have to fill your basket when you go to the store. You can eat healthy and with little money, but you have to know what to choose, in what quantity, to organize yourself and prioritize your needs”.
According to the World Health Organization, more than one billion people worldwide suffer from obesity. The World Bank estimates that 70% of people who are overweight or obese live in low- and middle-income countries. “We are committed to increasing our sales of more nutritious foods as well as guiding people towards more balanced diets”a Nestle spokesperson said, adding that Nestle also fortifies products to help eliminate nutrient deficiencies in developing countries. Last year, PepsiCo set new goals to reduce sodium in its chips and add ingredients like whole grains to its food products.
