The Competition Authority has notified the main beverage company - Coca-Cola Israel - that it is examining a new suspicion, according to which the company intervened in the price to the consumer regarding the soft drinks it produces - in violation of the provisions of the Food Law.
According to a report in Calcalist, the move comes in conjunction with yesterday's report that the company will pay a fine of 18 million shekels for other violations of the law.
Yesterday, the Competition Commissioner published for public comment an agreed notice of intent to charge - as part of the agreements reached by the Commissioner with the Central Beverage Manufacturing Company, it will pay approximately 18 million NIS to the State Treasury, for violations of sections of the Law for the Promotion of Competition in the Food and Pharmaceutical Industries, which deal with interference in display areas, in price recommendations to consumers at retailers regarding dairy products manufactured by Tara, which it owns, and in transferring payments to retailers, other than as product discounts that it sells to them.
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The inspection is part of an initiative in which the Competition Commissioner began a comprehensive examination of all existing agreements between major food suppliers and major food retailers at the beginning of 2022.
The inspection focused on the behavior of the suppliers and examined the commercial relationships between each of the major suppliers and each of the major retailers and their compliance with the provisions of the Food Law. Finally, the Commissioner reached agreements with most of the major suppliers, including - S. Shestowitz, Lyman Schlissel, Strauss, Tnuva, Angel, Unilever, Osem, Neto, Willifood, Snow, Diplomat, Sugat, Tempo, Kimberly Clark, Yafora and Lyman Schlissel - on the payment of financial sanctions totaling over 150 million NIS.
The agreed sanctions that the Commissioner reached with large suppliers allow for rapid and effective enforcement of the provisions of the Food Law.
In the next stage, the examination will focus on the conduct of the largest retailers in the economy, and their compliance with the provisions of the Food and Pharmaceutical Law.
The agreed notice of intent to charge was published yesterday for public comment, for 30 days.
