Prague Bio Shops

What would one say about the typical Czech who wouldn't give up his/her pork, dumplings and sour kraut and who, for the time being, only sneers at your efforts to promote bio? This is certainly no fly-by-night fashion as many may argue but rather a brand of goods whose cultivation, breeding and production is subject to strict standards designed to spare nature, animals, and in this way, ourselves. Let's take a look where one might find bio-goods in Prague.

Why are bio products more expensive?

You may wonder why bio-goods and foods are 20 to 40% pricier, but it makes perfect sense if you consider that the production costs include honest raw materials, which are usually substituted by less expensive variants in normal foods. But not all goods carrying a bio label fulfil the strict standards of the Ministry of Agriculture – only those which have the official BIO symbol on green and white striped label, with the text "Product of Ecological Agriculture" [„Produkt ekologického zemědělství“].

Where can one buy bio products?

The good news is that more and more stores now offer these products, indicating an increase in demand, which usually results in a lowering of prices. Some retail chains (such as Tesco) now have their own brands of bio products, and most retail outlets (DM drogerie, Billa, Albert, Plus) have at least some bio products on their offer, their prices for these products on a par with one another.
What concerns the smaller, specialised outlets which focus exclusively on bio-goods or healthy foods in general, you will find a list of these Prague stores below. It's worth mentioning that most bio-goods are still being imported from abroad, even though that too is now changing since Czech farmers are catching on to demand, as was reported in the March edition of „Hospodářské Noviny“. The paper reported the first Czech bio-poultry on sale for around 300 CZK per kilo, raised on the Abatis ecologicial farm in Zvole u Prahy, which supplies exclusively to regular private customers and to selected bio-shops in Prague.

>> List of Bio Shops in Prague to be found here!

Bio Guru says:

„At present, when we annually consume about 3 kilos of chemical substances found in common food products, when many are allergic to practically everything, when animals suffer under large scale breeding and when production chemicals end up in our rivers and natural surroundings, I perceive the word bio as the stance of an individual who cares about their own health, nature, animals, and the future of the entire planet.“  Says Hanka Zemanová, who without exaggeration can be considered a Czech bio-guru. After all, it was her who was instrumental in the birth of Prague's Albio shops. Presently though she is busy running her own chain of bio-bakeries and works with the media to promote bio and eco ways of living. Her lengthy experience in bio-foods and healthy living culminated nicely when her bio-cooking won her the best chef of 2006. She is also a best selling author.

Read on:

>> List of BIO Shops in Prague!