“We could sell out all Slovenian cherries in two or three days, yet they can be bought throughout spring”

All Slovenian growers of cherries, strawberries and other fruit are included in the register of the Slovenian Administration for Food Safety. Foto: BoBo

The Slovenian administration for food safety has been thoroughly investigating the numerous sellers of cherries from the region of Goriška Brda, as the quantity of cherries on the market is much greater than the one this western part of Slovenia is able to produce. What is more, this season has not been very great for cherries.

Numerous stalls pop up every spring, typically at stops or lay-bys at the side of busy Slovenian roads. They are laden with farmers’ produce and products. For several years now, the bestselling item have been the "cherries from Brda", and the "strawberries from Podbočje" are also becoming more and more popular. Local and Slovenian products in general have been a propaganda catchphrase of major food retailers for quite some time, which is why it comes as no surprise that the "roadside" grocers imitate them. It seems that most of them do not have any scruples about misleading their customers.

These are not merely individual fraudsters. Entire organizations are said to exist, earning money not only at the expense of naïve buyers but also due to low fines that inspectors in charge can give to offenders.

According to Radio Koper, the association of fruit growers from Brda has warned against ten farms that are cheating by buying cherries at large markets in Italy as well as Spain, and sell them in Slovenia as Brda’s produce.

"Depending on demand, we could sell out all Slovenian cherries in two or three days. But cherries from Goriška Brda can be bought throughout springtime," argues Jože Podgoršek, the Slovenian guardian of relations in the food supply chain, adding that the Administration for Food Safety keeps all Slovenian fruit farmers in its register. This allows it to check the origin for every seller that promotes or sells Slovenian fruit. According to Slovenian legislation, only members of a farm can sell farm produce. In all other cases, the sellers need to have another legal status, such as a private entrepreneur or a company with limited liability.

As Slovenia’s Agriculture Act states, the fine for misleading a customer regarding the origin of a product during direct sale ranges from 1,500 to 9,000 euros, if the offence is done by an individual private entrepreneur. A fine between 600 and 1,800 euros is given to a liable representative of a legal person or of a private entrepreneur individual as well as to any individual. The inspectors can also confiscate all goods with which an offence has been committed.

Gregor Cerar, MMC; translated by K. Z.