Bulgarian 'Crisis' Wafers Come Under Fire by Competition Watchdog

The notorious "Crisis" wafer pack contains 16 wafers for the price of EUR 0.5. File photo

In a curious case Bulgaria's Competition Protection Commission has slapped a sizable fine on a wafer producer claiming that his product can substitute a meal.

The Veliko Tarnovo-based firm Lachita was fined BGN 42 090 Thursday for its wafers called "Crisis", which have been claimed to have special nutritional qualities, on top of their cheap price suitable for a situation of economic crisis.

The fine is 0.5% of the company's net income for last year, which was BGN 8.4 M; according to Bulgarian law, the maximum fine in such cases is 8%.

Lachita is technically fine for deluding consumers about the qualities of its product. The competition watchdog was alerted by a consumer who read an article in the Veliko Tarnovo daily "Borba" ("Struggle") saying that the Crisis wafer could replace an entire meal thanks to its special nutrients.

"The ingredients of the processed product clearly show that not only does it have no "specially selected" nutrients, but, to the contrary, they are traditional for the production of wafers," says the Competition Protection Commission.

The Lachita firm itself has claimed it had nothing to do with the article in the local daily favoring its product, and that it was purely the work of journalist who authored it.

The Commission found, however, that the original article was posted on the web site of the company, and that subsequently it was modified omitting the part talking about the special nutrients and healthy qualities of the wafer.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!