Over 7 out of 10 Belgian produce shops were found with irregularities following an inspection by the FPS Economy between June and December 2022, the service announced on Thursday.
The checks concerned various regulations, including the country of origin labelling and fruit and vegetable prices.
Out of the 283 retailers inspected, 71.4% were in breach of at least one legal obligation.
Over a third of these infringements concern breaches of the country of origin labelling (38.8%). According to the FPS Economy, the obligation to display the origin of produce was "ignored" and "insufficiently respected".
"More and more people are consciously consuming local products, which is good for our ecological footprint," said Economy Minister Pierre-Yves Dermagne."It is therefore important for consumers that traders comply with the obligation to correctly indicate the origin of food products."
Since 1 January 2008, it has been compulsory to correctly indicate the country of origin of certain foods. However, as the FPS Economy notes, infringements are often found.
The public service also found 196 instances of mislabelling of prices per unit (25.6% of all breaches committed) and 157 breaches relating to the rules on the general indication of prices (20.5%).
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The Economic Inspectorate of the FPS Economy issued 208 warnings and drew up 52 official reports recording the most serious infringements.
"I also like to know where my fruits and vegetables have come from before buying them. I therefore think it is a good thing that the Economic Inspectorate is carrying out these checks," said State Secretary on Consumer Protection, Alexia Bertrand.
"I will also ask them to continue to do so if it appears that certain retailers persist in their practices," she added.
