THESE CONCLUSIONS ARE COLLECTED IN A REPORT AND A SURVEY BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION.

The 65 percent of European consumers do not feel safe buying products from outside the Union, data that is extracted from the conclusions of the Scoreboard of Consumer Conditions, edited by the European Commission.

Although the report is focused on online commerce, has conclusions that are applicable to the fruit and vegetable trade, as it reflects the trends of European consumers, regarding their preferences when choosing products from within the EU or from third countries.

The report reflects that, based on consumer and retailer reviews, there has been no clear decline in the level of illegal business practices in the last four years.

Based on the European Consumer Summit of 2013, The Commission is studying the best way to strengthen compliance with legislation on economic consumer rights. In September 2013 a public consultation will be launched on strengthening the efficiency of cooperation between national authorities, as part of the review of the Regulation that regulates this cooperation.

Added to this report are the results of a survey carried out by the EU in which more than 75 percent of Europeans are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products if they trust that they truly are (77 %). However, barely half of the citizens of the Union (55 %) They consider themselves informed about the environmental impact of the products they buy and use.

The survey on the attitudes of Europeans towards the creation of the single market for organic products, shows that the majority of Europeans would be willing to change their consumption habits and buy more ecological products, but many consider that they lack information and distrust the ecological claims of manufacturers.

Janez Potočnik, Environment Commissioner, has pointed out that “of course we all want to see more organic products on the shelves, But this survey reveals that the majority of consumers are confused by green claims and do not trust them. This is not good for consumers, nor does it reward companies that are really making an effort. We are working with businesses and other stakeholders to develop the credible information that consumers look for when purchasing their products., which will help the growth of markets and the creation of opportunities for innovation and investment in the green economy”.

The vast majority of EU citizens believe that buying organic products can have a decisive impact on the environment (89 %) and that these products are as effective as the others (74 %). The citizens who most trust that products labeled as organic are less harmful to the environment are the Portuguese (84 %), the maltese (82 %), the french (81 %) and the belgians (81 %). Instead, Trust levels are much lower in Germany (44 %), Romania (46 %) and the Netherlands (47 %).

A significant proportion of respondents do not consider it safe to consume food products after the date stated in the words “best before” (45 %). This means that large quantities of edible food are wasted or thrown away every day.. More than the 75 % of Swedish citizens (81 %), Austrians (77 %) and british (77 %) consider it safe to consume food products after the date stated in the words "best before", opinion shared by less than 20 % of Romanian citizens (14 %) and Lithuania (17%).

Companies that want to highlight the environmental performance of their products face numerous obstacles. Several different methods coexist, promoted by governments or by private initiatives., so these companies are forced to multiply the costs of providing environmental information. Consumers are confused by the proliferation of different labels with various information, making it difficult to compare products.

Four out of ten consumers believe that the environmental impact of a good or service influenced their purchasing decisions. Reasons for not making environmentally friendly purchases include lack of relevant information, higher price and distrust of environmental claims.

In April 2013 the Commission adopted a Communication on the creation of the single market for organic products and a Recommendation on the use of common methods (see IP/13/310), that started a pilot project in which interested parties will help develop more appropriate ways to measure the environmental impact of products. This initiative should contribute to the development of comparable and reliable environmental information, that generates trust among consumers, companies, investors and other interested parties. To correctly implement this new initiative, it is essential to better understand consumer behavior and attitudes..

The survey was carried out in all twenty-eight Member States of the European Union. More than 25.568 people from different social and demographic groups were surveyed by telephone in their native language on behalf of the European Commission.