In a Riga store, they slipped fat instead of fillet – all by the book

I bought chicken minced meat. The packaging stated that it is maltās gaļas masa and the word "fillet" was highlighted in large letters. This is very important to me, as due to health issues, minced meat from other parts of the chicken is not suitable for me.

But when I opened the package at home, I was hit by the characteristic smell of chicken fat. And after reading the composition of the minced meat (I couldn't do this in the store because I didn't bring my glasses, and the composition on the back was written in too small a font), I found out that the "fillet minced meat" consists of only 68% fillet, the rest being chicken skin, water, salt, flavorings, and beetroot extract. That is, the fillet is written in large letters, while the rest is in tiny letters on the back.

Does the manufacturer have the right to act this way, if, in addition to chicken fillet, this minced meat contains about a third of all sorts of other mixtures? Isn't this misleading for consumers?"

Inga Platpire, senior expert in the animal products production supervision department of the Food and Veterinary Service

– The product name contains the word "mass," which in itself indicates that this product is made from more than one ingredient. Otherwise, the label would state maltā gaļa (literally "minced meat").

When choosing such products, one should always consider that besides the desired ingredient, there will also be others, including those that are undesirable for health. Therefore, one should always read ALL the information on the label, especially the list of ingredients.

Furthermore, the manufacturer clearly indicated not only all the ingredients on the packaging but also their percentage composition in the product. This fully complies with the requirements of Regulation Nr.1169/2011 "On the provision of consumer information on food products." In particular, Article 7, which prohibits misleading the buyer regarding the composition of the product.

By highlighting the word "fillet," the manufacturer simply emphasized that this is the main component, the proportion of which in the product exceeds 50%. Thus, the buyer was initially provided with all the necessary information about the product – including that the fillet in it is not 100%.

And the fact that the word "fillet" was specially highlighted, while the rest of the information was written in small letters on the back, cannot be considered as misleading the buyer.