1992 and the Consumer

This paper summarises the journey so far towards the ‘single market’. Consumers may expect to benefit from increased choice and cheaper prices but the possibility that quality, as judged by % of characterising ingredient, will be lowered, is a cause for concern. The consumer will have to rely increasingly on labels, assuming that the label information is adequate. Quantitative ingredient information is desirable but provides technical difficulties for manufacturers. A voluntary ‘quality mark’ scheme could be a satisfactory replacement for compositional standards but would have to be carefully controlled by independent assessors. The abolition of frontier controls creates a dilemma between the desire to have free trade within the community and the need to give a high priority to public health.