Carrefour store found guilty of presenting foreign fresh produce as French
Widespread checks in 2024 found many shops fall foul of general commerce rules
The origin of fresh products must be labelled in supermarkets
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A French supermarket has been fined €21,000 for labelling fresh produce as being of French origin when in truth it came from abroad.
In total, the ‘Carrefour’ hypermarket in Chalezeule, Doubs in eastern France, falsely labelled 19 légumes and mushrooms as being from France.
“All communication regarding the origin and place of production of fruits and vegetables must be fair,” said the Direction générale de la Concurrence, de la Consommation et de la Répression des Fraudes (DGCCRF) in a press release about the incident.
“Substituting the foreign origin… in order to promote the products in the eyes of consumers, misled them as to the true place of production of these foodstuffs, even though this is an essential characteristic that often determines the consumer's purchasing decision,” it added.
The fine was issued by the Besançon public prosecutor to the store manager, who accepted it. Falsely labelling the origin of food is prohibited under Article L.121-3 of France’s Consumer Code.
Maximum penalties can reach a two-year imprisonment and €300,000 fine for an individual responsible, and up to 10% of a store’s earnings.
Such cases are not as rare as consumers may hope.
In 2024, then-Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire promised 10,000 checks and controls on supermarket practices.
In 34% of cases, supermarkets were found to be in breach of regulations, with the DGCCRF issuing close to 2,000 warnings and reporting more than 500 supermarkets to courts.
A recent case saw a winemaker jailed for listing Spanish wine as ‘champagnes’, and some of the bottles were sold in major French supermarkets.
