Cartons of milk on sale in Hungary. Credit: Raketir / Shutterstock

Hungary’s government will require bigger food retailers to label items to indicate instances of “shrinkflation”.

According to a statement from the country’s government, food retailers with a sales revenue larger than Ft1bn ($2.9m) will be obliged to display warnings on products that have shrunk in size while their prices have been maintained or increased.

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Manufacturers will have to inform retailers of any changes in product size.

The labels will have to signal any changes in weight or volume. The measures will be compared to the weight or volume of the same product between 1 January 2020 and 1 July 2023.

Retailers must provide the information for two months from the date they started to sell the product in the reduced size.

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The scheme is scheduled to be implemented in the first half of February.

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Hungary’s government said the country’s consumer protection authority will take action in the case of non-compliance. Consumers can also access a public database recording the changes on the National Food Chain Safety Authority’s (NEBIH) website.

“In parallel with stagnant or rising prices of some produce, the size of packaging has been shrinking in many countries,” the statement said. “The result of this deceptive practice is that consumers get less for their money from the purchased products than before.”

The government said that it was “doing everything it could to protect families and was combatting consumer deception amid difficult economic circumstances”.

Earlier this month, France also submitted plans to the EU for new rules to require the country’s retailers to alert shoppers about shrinkflation.

Paris has asked the European Commission to clear a move that would oblige grocers to tell consumers if a product has been reduced in size but its price has stayed the same.