As of: February 23, 2024, 11:20 a.m
By: Vivian Werg
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Hidden price increases are often not immediately noticeable and are a nuisance for consumers.
Now consumer advocates have had success in court for the first time.
Kassel – High inflation continues to cause problems for consumers in Germany.
For many people, austerity is still the order of the day, especially when it comes to buying groceries.
A survey by the auditing firm Deloitte has shown that consumers are restricting themselves greatly when buying food in view of increased prices.
As if that weren't enough, there are also hidden price increases (shrinkflation) that are increasingly causing irritation among consumers.
According to their own information, consumer advocates have been observing for some time that many manufacturers are disguising their price increases by simply reducing the contents of their products while keeping the selling price and pack size the same.
However, not everyone gets away with it.
Lawsuit against deceptive packaging successful: consumer advocates sue Upfield for misleading
In the summer of 2022, the Upfield company reduced the capacity of a Sanella product by 100 grams. As a result, only 400 grams of Sanella were filled into the original cup, which previously contained 500 grams for years.
For the Hamburg consumer advice center, the company misled consumers.
They sued Upfield – successfully.
In a groundbreaking court ruling, the Hamburg consumer advice center won against a manufacturer who reduced the content of one of its products by a full 100 grams without this being readily apparent to consumers.
(Symbolic image) © Manfred Segerer/ Imago
“If the identical cup suddenly contains 100 grams less spreadable fat without any additional information, we see this as a clear case of misleading.
We are pleased that the court followed our opinion with its groundbreaking ruling.
Accordingly, manufacturers are no longer allowed to simply sell less content in packaging of the same size without pointing out the smaller capacity,” says a statement from the Hamburg Consumer Center.
Prevent deceptive packaging: Consumer advocates are demanding clear guidelines from the legislature
Hauke Reinhardt from the law firm Burchert and Partner Rechtsanwälte, which represented the Hamburg consumer advice center in this matter, explained: “It is the first time that a court has spoken out against this form of deceptive packaging and a first stage victory for more consumer protection.”
In order to protect consumers from hidden price increases, the Hamburg Consumer Center believes that the legislature must specify specific information:
Manufacturers must indicate the old and new filling quantities as well as the percentage reduction for up to twelve months on the product packaging.
The size of the pack should shrink with the contents when the filling quantities are reduced in order to make the difference clear to consumers.
In principle, packaging must be fully filled.
Technically necessary airspace is only permitted in exceptional cases.
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Deceptive packaging for food: There are often hidden price increases for these products
Despite a successful lawsuit, consumer advocates say the number of consumer complaints about trickery with packaging sizes continues to rise.
Often the “affected products have become 20 percent more expensive due to the reduced filling quantity, some even by more than 75 percent.”
“Shrinkflation” was increasingly observed in the following product categories:
Snacks, especially chips
Confectionery such as chocolate and ice cream
Cheese
Frozen foods such as fish or convenience foods
Detergent, shower gel and other drugstore products
Misleading information or deceptively large packaging is prohibited according to Section 43 Paragraph 2 of the Measurement and Calibration Act.
But according to consumer advocates, the law lacks “concrete provisions as to when a deceptive package is considered.”
Although the Food Information Ordinance prohibits “misleading information about food, including the quantity”, complaints must always be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Another trick used by many manufacturers and retailers is “skimpflation” – this involves saving on the composition.
But with the right tips, consumers can effectively save money when shopping.
And with a few helpful tricks you can identify and avoid price traps in the supermarket.
(vw)