Consumer advocates are calling for better protection against hidden price increases in supermarkets. The current issue is that retailers in France have had to point out such deceptive packaging on the shelves since 1 July.
Since 1 July, food retailers in France have been required to label cheat packs with a notice on the shelf. Reduflation (made up of the French terms „réduction“ and „inflation“) is what the French call such business practices, where the former Package contents reduced is used during the Price remains the same or increased is used. According to the Paris Ministry of the Economy, this practice is not prohibited, but has been heavily criticised as it is hardly noticed by consumers when shopping.
For a period of two months after the change in pack size, the following is now available in France a notice on the shelf is mandatory, which shows how the quantity in the pack and the price have changed. The Regulation applies to food and non-food products, regardless of whether they are branded or private label products. deals.
Labelling deceptive packaging in Germany too
In Germany, too, consumer advocates are demanding that manufacturers Labelling packaging with warnings if a product contains less content but the price has remained the same or even increased or the composition has changed. The Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv) and the Consumer Advice Centre Hamburg have called on the German government to regulate deceptive packaging in this country as well.
„Consumers must be able to recognise deceptive packaging at a glance when shopping. Products with altered compositions or lower filling quantities at the same or higher price should be labelled with a warning for at least six months.“
Ramona Pop, Chairwoman of the vzbv
In the view of the vzbv and the Consumer Advice Centre Hamburg, the federal government must better protection against hidden price increases in supermarkets. The consumer advice centre in Hamburg has been running a List of cheat packs. In 2023, it registered the highest number of cheat packs to date with over 100 published examples. High number of complaints also expected in 2024. There are examples of both „shrinkflation“ (changing the contents while the price remains the same or increases) and „skimflation“ (replacing high-quality ingredients with cheaper ingredients).
„Many people don't realise when they reach for a cheat pack in their daily shopping. A reduced quantity of ingredients at the same price is often not immediately noticeable. It is even more difficult for consumers to recognise when manufacturers replace high-quality ingredients with inferior ones. People are extremely annoyed.“
Michael Knobloch, Board of the Consumer Advice Centre Hamburg
Source: vzbv / Ministère de l'Économie, des Finances et de la Souveraineté industrielle et numérique
