According to a survey commissioned by Croatian MEP Biljana Borzan, 94.5% of Croatian citizens have noticed that the quantity of products is decreasing while the price remains the same, and 66% said that the quality of services for the same price has decreased significantly, her office announced on Wednesday.

“In times of high inflation, multinationals try in a very insidious way to pass on the costs to citizens by reducing the quantity in the packaging or the product quality. According to my survey, 94.5% of citizens have noticed that the weight of certain food or hygiene products has decreased while the price has remained the same. Some countries, such as France, Belgium or Hungary, are trying to fight this through national legislation by clearly pointing out the changes to consumers,” said Borzan.

Noticeable decline in the quality of food or cosmetic products

“In addition to shrinkflation, a potentially dangerous new phenomenon has emerged on the market – skimpflation, where the quality of products has fallen while the price has remained the same. For example, at the beginning of the war in Ukraine, sunflower oil was replaced by inferior palm oil. However, when sunflower oil returned to the market, manufacturers continued to use the cheaper variant. Cheaper ingredients usually mean less healthy ingredients and these changes can have a negative impact on people’s health in the long term,” explains Borzan.

Consumer protection organisations across the EU have noticed a decline in the quality of food, as well as clothing and hygiene products.

“No less than 76% of our citizens have noticed a decline in the quality of food or cosmetic products they are loyal to. These changes are often not even indicated on the packaging. In addition, 66% of citizens have noticed a deterioration in the quality of services. For example, for the same price, you get far fewer options and content when you buy an overnight stay in a hotel or tickets for events, or when you sit in a restaurant or at a beautician. This is cheating the citizens and the burden of the crisis is being carried on their backs. Both practises should be blacklisted as unfair business practises in the EU,” said Borzan.

The survey was conducted on a representative sample of 806 respondents in December 2023 and January 2024 by the Hendal agency.