The food prices that have been rising for months are causing problems for many consumers. But at the same time, they also have to accept compromises in quality.
It’s a nuisance for consumers: their favorite chocolate suddenly contains less marzipan, and the ice cream now contains coconut fat instead of whipped cream. But despite the worsened recipe, the products in the supermarket cost the same or even more than before. “Skimpflation” is the name of this phenomenon, which is difficult for customers to identify when shopping. To do this you would have to compare the small print of the ingredients list on an old packaging with that on a new one – and who can do that?
The term “skimpflation” is composed of the English word “skimp” meaning to skimp or save and “inflation” meaning price increase. Even if the financial effects cannot be specifically quantified, manufacturers are likely to secure significant savings with such recipe changes, says Armin Valet from the Hamburg Consumer Center. “For example, if a creamed spinach contains only 67 percent spinach instead of 88 percent in the package and is filled with water instead, that is definitely a huge cost saving because spinach is by far the most expensive ingredient.”
Disadvantage for consumers
The expert knows similar examples with margarine: A well-known brand now contains only 60 percent fat instead of the 80 percent required for margarine – and more water instead. “With thousands of tons of annual production, that makes a big difference,” says Valet. “Based on the world market prices for vegetable oil, this could well be in the hundreds of thousands, perhaps even more. But that is only a very rough estimate.” If there are marginal changes to the recipe, the savings are likely to be correspondingly lower. Through so-called shrinkflation – i.e. product packs with less content that are offered at the same price – manufacturers could save even more to the detriment of consumers.
But it’s not just consumers’ wallets that are affected; poorer formulations can also have a negative impact on their health. “If, for example, sunflower oil is replaced by palm oil, the food contains more saturated fatty acids,” says a spokeswoman for the consumer organization Foodwatch. Replacing high-quality ingredients with sugar is also problematic for health. Manufacturers should provide transparent information about recipe changes – and if they use inferior ingredients, they should also reduce the price, said the spokeswoman. It cannot be the case that consumers, who currently have to dig deeper into their pockets when shopping, also receive even worse quality – “while manufacturers make additional profits”.
Cover “New Recipe”
However, the options for countering this are limited, as Valet makes clear. Manufacturers would have to adapt the ingredient lists when recipes were changed, but would not have to specifically state what had been changed. In some cases, the product name also has to be changed, and margarine, for example, is then called “spreadable fat” in the small print because it no longer contains enough fat. But the manufacturers would have already met the requirements. In some cases there is a “new recipe” on the packs – but what exactly is new is not clear or only when there has actually been an improvement, says Valet. And still other manufacturers didn’t even shy away from selling a deterioration to consumers as a “better recipe”.
Even if the problem is widespread, there are only a few complaints and when they do, they are often vague, says the expert. “Skimpflation is extremely difficult for consumers to figure out, even more difficult than shrinkflation.” Valet suspects that there is a high number of unreported cases. The only way to combat this is for customers to be well informed and to look closely at the ingredients in finished products. However, better labeling of recipe changes would be desirable, demands Valet.
Violations are rarely obvious
Food inspectors also see only limited options. “We can only take action if violations caused by misleading and deception are obviously suspected,” says Maik Maschke, chairman of the Federal Association of Food Inspectors in Germany. Often you only get information from third parties that “consumers are upset at the shelves in food retailers about the shrinking size of the packaging, the increased price and the declining quality of the products.” If such complaints come to the attention of the official food control authorities, they will also be investigated. Samples of the food would then also be taken.
However, tests in the laboratory cannot be about the prices of the products, but only about the correct labeling of the ingredients and a comparison of the quantities on the package with the actual contents. “However, it is not uncommon for food manufacturers to change the recipe,” says Maschke. This is also due to disruptions in supply chains, for example due to food shortages caused by the war in Ukraine or the corona pandemic.
Source: Stern
