New competition supervision procedure for products advertised as “whole grain”

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 03. 10. 09:20

The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has launched new competition supervision proceedings against three food retail chains, based on consumer complaints, alleging that Spar, ALDI and Tesco are engaged in misleading commercial communications regarding certain of their products advertised as “whole grain”, the GVH told MTI on Monday.

As a reminder, on February 12, Lidl was fined 186 million forints for misleading consumers regarding four of its products advertised as “whole grain”. More than one million people in Hungary live with diabetes, and it is extremely important for them to know what ingredients they use in their baked goods.

Following the conclusion of the proceedings, the GVH will investigate the information and commercial practices of other market players regarding “whole grain” products in the context of complaint procedures based on consumer complaints.

As a result of the complaint proceedings, the GVH has now initiated three competition supervision proceedings: against Spar Magyarország Kereskedelmi Kft. (Spar), ALDI Magyarország Élelszer Bt. (Aldi) and TESCO-GLOBAL Áruházak Zrt. (Tesco). In the case of all three food retail companies, the GVH has noticed that they are likely to engage in misleading commercial practices in their commercial communications regarding certain locally baked baked goods sold with the “whole grain” label, and in the naming of these products themselves.

The companies are suspected of giving consumers the wrong impression, with regard to the composition of the products as an essential characteristic, that they are predominantly made with whole grain flour, they wrote.