Advertising authority rejects Consumer Association's shrinkflation complaints

The Advertising Code Committee (RCC) has rejected three complaints filed by the Consumentenbond about inflation. According to the RCC, it is not the right authority to rule on this issue.

The RCC only assesses packaging that is currently in use and does not compare it with previous packaging. Shrinkflation is when manufacturers and retailers reduce the contents of a product without lowering the price. That makes it seem like the product isn’t getting more expensive, but consumers are paying more for less.

The Consumentenbond called the practice unfair and misleading because such shrinkage is not immediately noticeable. “We find it reprehensible when manufacturers and supermarkets secretly put less in a package without lowering the price,” said Sandra Molenaar, director of the consumers’ association. “You cannot expect consumers to check the contents of a package with every purchase.”

The Consumentenbond filed these complaints after receiving hundreds of complaints about shrinkflation in recent years. According to the association, discussions with supermarkets and manufacturers yielded nothing, which is why it turned to the RCC.

The association called it a shame that the RCC did not make clear whether shrinkflation was permitted. “Fortunately, we are now seeing many products are slowly becoming cheaper again. We will continue to expose shrinkflation. By collecting new disguised price increases and informing consumers about them,” Molenaar said.

The complaints the Consumentenbond filed with the RCC concerned Corona beer, which shrank from 355 to 330 millimeters, Van Melle toffees (from 275 to 225 grams), and De Ruijter chocolate sandwich spread, the package of which became 14 percent larger while the contents remained the same.