Buying bakery products through illegal advertising on social networks and forums can not only disappoint the consumer in terms of quality, but also endanger his health. This was pointed out on Tuesday by the Slovak Union of Bakers, Confectioners and Pasta Makers (SZPCC), which drew attention to the fact that in the case of unofficial sales of cakes and desserts, no complaints are subsequently processed.
“Every year during the Christmas period, offers for the sale of Christmas cakes and desserts appear on social networks. We therefore want to warn consumers to be careful with such a purchase. Not only do many illegal manufacturers buy unauthorized raw materials in the European Union through e-shops from China, but they refuse to meet customers in person and their products are transported by regular courier services. During temperature fluctuations during transport in conditions unsuitable for the transport of food, condensation of water occurs and the formation of molds that cannot be seen by the human eye,” explained SZPCC chairman Milan Lapšanský.
On behalf of the association, it does not recommend the consumption of such statements, which may pose a serious risk to the health of consumers. In particular, products that customers pick up in designated parcel boxes go through various storage environments without any temperature measurement, which illegal sellers ignore, added Lapšanský.
“Increasingly, we also encounter complaints about the quality of illegally sold cakes and desserts. We have recorded cases when the consumer received cakes purchased in a hypermarket at three times the price instead of the declared domestic products. Since such ‘illegal businessmen’ have no responsibility, there are no complaints or claims against them, and even in the case of health damage, the consumer cannot recover anything from them,” the chairman of the union emphasized.
The SZPCC records illegal sales throughout Slovakia every year, especially during Christmas and Easter. In this context, the Union communicates with the relevant state authorities, which then record and check illegal sellers. Unofficial confectioneries and bakeries, among other things, do not pay the state more than 12 million euros per year, added the union at the end.
