Controls encounter problems in bakeries

TIRANA, May 18 – The National Food Agency says it has carried out controls in 225 bakeries during the past 80 days, identifying problems of hygiene and weight standards. The agency said it had fined several of them, warning to impose harsher penalties if no measures are taken to improve hygiene and respect weight standards.
Last month, a secret deal among bread producers in the southern city of Vlora was discovered in which bread prices were registered with significant increases.
Producers say they often face informal competition from unlicensed bakeries and that the recent price increase is not only a result of the soaring prices in international markets.
The Association says the Agriculture and Economy ministries should intervene to set the weight standards for every kind of loaf of bread and carry out tougher controls even on bakeries. As far as prices are concerned, bread producers say they can be determined only by free competition and not the Finance Ministry.
Local producers say the increase in bread prices is unavoidable as long as prices in international markets, from which Albania imports 85 percent of its wheat needs, continue rising. Currently, a standard loaf of bread of 800 grams costs 90 lek (60 Euro cents) in most bakeries, up from 70 lek a few months ago.