The Carrefour supermarket in Chalezeule, near Besançon (Doubs), has been fined by the Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) for presenting imported products as French.
The investigation carried out by the fraud control organization revealed that 19 vegetables and dried mushrooms were presented as being produced in France, while they were in fact imported from abroad. This practice has been described as "misleading as to origin" and is considered to be an offence of misleading commercial practices under article L.121-3 of the French Consumer Code, punishable by two years' imprisonment and a fine of 300,000 euros [352,035 USD].
"The investigation revealed that this establishment and its manager, Mr Danjou, were misleading consumers about the origin of some fruit and vegetables by falsely presenting them as being produced in France. Substituting the French origin for these 19 imported vegetables and dried mushrooms, in order to enhance the value of the products in the eyes of consumers, misleads them as to the true place of origin, which is an essential criterion for purchase for French consumers," according to a note from the DGCCRF on the economie.gouv.fr website.
The public prosecutor of the Besançon Court of Justice has proposed a fine of €21,000 [24,642 USD] to the manager of the Carrefour shop.