Manufacturers of socially important food products will be prohibited from using reduced-volume packaging

The refusal of manufacturers to try to manipulate the market by reducing the volume of packaging will contribute to its transparency, the department believes.

Mandatory

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is ready to consider amendments to the technical regulations “On food safety” regarding the mandatory use of standard packages weighing 200 g, 500 g, or volume 1 liter, 2 l, etc. We are talking about socially significant products - MILK, SUGAR, sunflower oil, etc. Deputy HEAD of the department Viktor Evtukhov spoke about this. He believes that such a measure can be proposed for discussion with colleagues fromEAEU.

If manufacturers give up attempts to manipulate the consumer market through an imperceptible reduction in packaging volume, this will contribute to its transparency, Viktor Evtukhov is sure. He recalled that in early November, the Prosecutor General’s Office amended the GOST “Requirements for the quantity of packaged goods” (a voluntary document): they ordered manufacturers of socially important products to produce them in standardized packaging. But such requirements need to be met only if the company manufactures products according to the standard. If the product is made according to technical specifications, then the product can be packaged in any container.

—Changes are needed in order to stop misleading consumers; this is a serious step towards putting things in order in packaging,” explained Viktor Evtukhov. — A decrease in the mass and quantity of goods by producers without a decrease, or even an increase in cost, is called inflation. This method, of course, helps manufacturers reduce their costs. However, all this is done through abuse of consumer trust. Many of us discover the “drying out” of familiar products and goods already at home. And the overwhelming majority are in demand for traditionally packagedproducts, and not their smaller versions.

Viktor Evtukhov noted that “GOST today is still not a mandatory standard; the manufacturer can continue to produce products according to technical specifications, packaging them as he wants.” Therefore, the department is ready to consider the dissemination of this initiative - for example, to propose to the EAEU to make appropriate changes to the general technical regulations on food safety. This document is mandatory, the official emphasized.

The Ministry of Agriculture did not respond to Izvestia’s request.

Interesting products

Various manipulations with food packaging related to reducing the weight, volume or quantity of food while maintaining the same price is a common phenomenon in the consumer market, said the head of the “Public Consumer Initiative” Oleg Pavlov. Standardization of packaging, in his opinion, is a measure that will partially correct the situation and give consumers guidelines when choosing socially significant products.

But the variability in production volumes is not due to the desire to mislead the consumer, but to the desire to make new interesting products, Soyuzmolok believes. They are confident that changes to the legislative framework should also take into account good practices. Now there are simpler ways to convey information to consumers about the cost of, for example, a liter of products. This practice is already used by large retail chains - they additionally indicate the cost per 1 kg on the price tag.

— Soyuzmoloko considers it extremely important to improve consumer literacy and improve customer information. At the same time, when improving the standardization system, the interests of both consumers and manufacturers should be taken into account, the organization noted. — Over the past 30 years, the product range has expanded significantly: large formats, family packaging, and non-standard products have appeared.

By reducing the weight or volume of a product unit, manufacturers strive to make it more accessible to consumers, said Dmitry Vostrikov, executive DIRECTOR of the Rusprodsoyuz association. He added that in theory, manufacturers can switch to standard packaging.

“But it is impossible to immediately restructure production to comply with these requirements: replacement and reconfiguration of production lines are necessary, as well as ordering new packaging, plus production of the produced one, as well as coordination of new product items with retail, which will take from 12 to 15 months,” the expert noted.

Plus, it should be taken into account that in the warehouses of enterprises there are significant stocks of products and packaging that do not meet the proposed standards, he added. Therefore, the transition is technically possible no earlier than 2025. And in the current situation of a colossal increase in costs, these changes can lead to an additional rise in prices for goods, suggested Dmitry Vostrikov.

Large federal retailers have already received recommendations from the Ministry of Industry and Trade; the companies are negotiating with manufacturers on the application of packaging standards for goods under the chains’ own brands, said Igor Karavaev, Chairman of the Presidium of the Association of Retail Trade Companies (AKORT).

“We expect that by mid-January we will understand the dynamics of the use of the stipulated permissible values ​​of the nominal quantity of goods and the scale of possible changes,” he added.

At the same time, AKORT will form a position regarding specific amendments to the technical regulations after it receives the text of the relevant draft.