Post #3037800

2026-05-15 21:41 UTC

@chartier@toot.cafe @DoomsdaysCW@kolektiva.social Oh, let me tell you an anecdote. The European Union has been very slow in coordinating and unifying its consumer protections. Spain joined the EEC in 1986. But back in 1984 we had one of the strictest consumer protection laws; it took years for the EU to "reach us" in stuff like informative labels. We also had quirks like a prohibition of bulk buying (as in, unpackaged) to final consumers. And it was because back in 1981, 330 people died and thousands got seriously ill from industrial-use oil sold as food-grade. To this day, people won't buy canola oil because the name sounds as poison. The case was a form of collective trauma.

Replies (2)

@DoomsdaysCW@kolektiva.social 2026-05-15 23:08

And I did not know that about canola oil. I thought folks didn't buy it because it was rapeseed oil which can cause inflammation. I just looked up the "Toxic oil incident" -- shameful! @laguiri@neopaquita.es @chartier@toot.cafe

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@iju@mastodon.social 2026-05-16 10:03

@laguiri@neopaquita.es @chartier@toot.cafe @DoomsdaysCW@kolektiva.social Generally speaking EU-standards are more lax than the state standards they replaced (as one size has to fit all). This is somewhat offset by the fact that the EU-standards are more ubiquitous than the previous spot-checks. The state standards were usually lobbied so that the worst local practices were grandfathered in to legislation, while disallowing practices found in imports. (The people most affected by the standards are also the people with most money. )

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