European consumers may have been paying too much for canned mushrooms, the European Commission said, confirming that it had reasons to suspect producers of colluding over prices. The commission, the European Union‘s executive, “has informed a number of producers of canned mushrooms of its preliminary view that they may have participated in a cartel, in breach of EU antitrust rules,” said spokesmen Antoine Colombani.
The statement of objections, sent to producers including France‘s Bonduelle Group, follows the launch of a cartel probe into the canned mushroom market last April.
“Bonduelle will submit its observations in response to the statement of objections,” the company said in a press release. The probe relates to activities during 2006-12, according to Bonduelle spokeswoman Catherine Richard, who said her company only entered the market through an acquisition in 2010.
The commission, the EU‘s anti-competition watchdog, can impose a fine of up to 10 per cent of a company‘s annual worldwide turnover if EU laws have been breached.
