France puts limits on misleading advertising of some brands. The country’s supermarkets will have to warn the public with specific signage when any of their products have reduced weight or volume, a strategy used by certain brands so that a price increase goes unnoticed.
The decree, published this Saturday by the French executive, specifies this rule against the phenomenon known by the English term shrinkflation (from the verb shrink, to reduce), which all stores of more than 400 square meters will have to apply.
As of July 1, products that have decreased in volume or weight must incorporate signage that must specify the cut, as well as the evolution of the price per unit of measurement.
According to the French government, the aim is to make it clear whether the modification of the format has served to increase the price and thus put an end to a misleading commercial practice for the consumer.
Food and other non-food products that are marketed in a constant quantity will be affected, but not those packaged in variable quantities or those sold in bulk, the French executive details in the published decree.
Failure to comply with this new rule, they detail, may be punished with fines of 3,000 euros, if the offender is a person. The fine will be up to 15,000 euros, in the case of a company.
