Ladybug. Jeronimo Martins Polska must pay a fine of more than PLN 60 million, this is the decision of the Court of Appeal – inform the Competition and Consumer Protection Office

“The Court of Appeal rejected the appeal submitted by Jeronimo Martins Polska, the owner of the Bedronka chain,” the Competition and Consumer Protection Office reported on Friday on the X website.

“The decision of the Head of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection is final (DOZIK 3/2021). The court upheld the fine imposed by the Head of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection – more than PLN 60 million (60,096,307 PLN – Ed.)” – it was emphasized.

The office added, “In the ruling of the Court of Appeal (Court of Appeal), it stressed that complete and reliable information about the products offered is the obligation of the project owner. Misinformation may relate to the features of the product, including its source.”

In response to questions from the business editorial staff of tvn24.pl, the Biedronka chain said that it “consistently and reliably informs customers about the country of origin of the products available in stores, and the branches of the chain operate appropriate and constantly improved procedures thanks to which we provide the correct countries of origin of the products, which is of particular importance.” For customers.” In the case of fruits and vegetables.

“In addition, it should be emphasized that the two main pillars of our strategy are to sell Polish products whenever and wherever possible and to provide appropriate information about them,” he added.

Biedronka's representatives wrote that “some sporadic and temporary errors” may occur in both directions — indicating that the Polish product is foreign and vice versa — due to the high turnover of fruits and vegetables in branches, multiple deliveries in one day and the volume of operations.

“But we are surprised that the Competition and Consumer Protection Bureau is focusing all its attention on us, especially since, even according to the Bureau’s official report, other retail chains are facing greater difficulties, because the percentage of errors in the stores that were inspected is lower than the market average among all retailers.” retail who were inspected.

This relates to the fine imposed by the head of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection in 2021. According to the office, the owner of the “Bedronka” chain misled consumers regarding the country of origin of fruits and vegetables, which could have distorted their purchasing decisions.

Violations were subsequently reported in more than a quarter (27.8%) of the Biedronka stores inspected by the Commercial Inspectorate.

“For example, the sign on the stand had the inscription “Poland”, even though the garlic sold on October 15, 2019 in Biedronka in Łódź came from Spain, and the potatoes offered on February 19, 2020 in Radimno (Podkarpactsky) – from France, Savoie cabbage sold on February 19, 2020 in Kołobrzeg – from France, celery on offer on May 12, 2020 from the discount store in Koestsalen – from the Netherlands, pears available on February 24, 2021 at Biedronka in Katowice – from the Netherlands, and shallot onions, which It can be purchased on February 24, 2021 at the store in Bydgoszcz – from France,” we can read in the statement of the Competition and Consumer Protection Office.