Quiet deception: about 80 percent of products in stores have become smaller without changing prices — Roskachestvo

Milk in 970 milliliter bottles, 86 grams of cottage cheese per pack instead of 100, 180 grams of butter instead of 200 — all these examples are familiar to every buyer. About 80 percent of products in Russian stores suffer from downsizing in one way or another — this is the name for the phenomenon when a manufacturer reduces the quantity of a product in a package, while maintaining the same price. Roskachestvo reported this to the Parliamentary Newspaper. Why the packages shrink and whether the buyer has the right to complain if instead of an “honest liter” he was sold less — we tell you in the editorial material.

From milk to buns

According to Vasily Smirnov, director of the analytics department at Roskachestvo, today about 80 percent of the products on store shelves have suffered from downsizing in one way or another. On average, depending on the product category, the “weight loss” of bottles, packs and other packaging was up to 10.

According to our observations, this phenomenon is one way or another present in dairy products, groceries — a variety of cereals, confectionery, and so on.noted the expert. — At the same time, dairy products can probably be called the leader in the prevalence of downsizing. The volume of milk in the bottle, the weight of cottage cheese in a pack, sour cream, and natural yoghurts are reduced. Even more: we are already seeing how sellers are beginning to use maintaining the usual quantity of products as a marketing ploy, when they write, for example, “an honest liter of milk” on the packaging.

Downsizing, noted Vasily Smirnov, is gradually penetrating into new areas. For example, recently there has been a noticeable decrease in baked goods, which are sold in stores individually, both in size and weight.

The explanation here is simple: in recent years, manufacturers have regularly faced rising costs,” explained the publication’s interlocutor. — Ingredients, utilities, fuel are becoming more expensive, and industrial wages are rising. Under these conditions, in order not to shock the consumer with sharp price jumps and at least try to keep the cost of products in some acceptable range, a measure such as reducing the quantity of goods is introduced.”

The main thing is to indicate the weight

At the same time, manufacturers can use a variety of tricks to hide downsizing until the last minute. For example, some time ago there was active discussion on social networks about curd cheese from a well-known manufacturer. They were sold in large, brightly decorated boxes. But the cheese itself occupied, at best, half of the internal space, everything else was just air.

The situation here is twofoldsaid Vasily Smirnov. — On the one hand, of course, the buyer is unpleasant when the contents of the package diverge so greatly from expectations. On the other hand, the legislation does not limit the manufacturer in any way in this matter. The only thing he has to do is indicate the actual weight of the product on the label. If this mark is there, he can do absolutely any packaging, and this will not be considered a violation.

In addition to obvious downsizing, the expert emphasized, there is also hidden, when the manufacturer simply undersupplies or underfills the product, and the weight or volume indicated on the label does not correspond to the real one. This is a direct violation of the buyer’s rights. If you find such a product on the shelf, you can safely file a complaint with the regulatory authorities.

source: «Parliamentary newspaper»

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