Candies, chocolates, hazelnuts, bacon bits and ravioli: the Foodwatch and Zero Waste France associations announced on Tuesday that they had given five major brands formal notice to change the packaging of the products they market, deemed oversized in relation to the content.
“With this formal notice, we are giving Carambar, Côte d’Or (Mondelez), Daco Bello, Herta and Rana 30 days to withdraw their products from the market and undertake to no longer market products full of voids. “, say the associations in a press release. In the absence of a reaction, Foodwatch (consumer defense) and Zero Waste (fight against waste) “will take legal action”.
61% vacuum in chocolate
The associations claim to have been alerted by consumers surprised by the discrepancy between the volume of the packaging and the quantity of product inside. According to their calculations, a tray of bacon bits from Herta’s nitrite-free range contains 54% vacuum, a bag of Côte d’Or dark chocolate squares climbs to 61% vacuum and we even arrive at 68% vacuum. for shelled hazelnuts sold by Daco Bello.
“If for the agri-food industry, vacuum can sometimes be necessary, for example to protect food during transport or better preserve its quality, in the examples pointed out, the packaging contains unnecessary vacuum which could be reduced”, believe the associations.
Misleading commercial practices
Their action is based on environmental and consumer codes. The first prescribes in an article that “packaging must be designed and manufactured in such a way as to limit its volume and mass to the minimum necessary to ensure a sufficient level of safety, hygiene and acceptability”.
The second provides the definition of a deceptive commercial practice. “The associations consider that the packaging of your product constitutes a misleading commercial practice, in that its presentation and its packaging mislead, giving the impression to consumers that they are buying a quantity significantly larger than what is actually contained. in the packaging”, indicate their lawyers in the formal notices consulted by AFP.
“To muscle their action”
Foodwatch and Zero Waste France thus say they are “strengthening their action” after having repeatedly denounced over-packaging without tangible results. The associations measured “60% vacuum” in a packet of boletus ravioli marketed by Giovanni Rana.
“This size of the packaging is essential for its proper sealing, in order to ensure the best preservation of the fresh product. In addition (…) the right space is created to prevent the fresh and delicate pasta from breaking during transport, thus guaranteeing its integrity”, reacted the company to AFP.
Regarding Côte d’Or chocolates, “the number of squares contained in the package is clearly indicated on the front and back of the packaging, and the weight of the finished product also appears on the back of the packaging, making it possible to clearly inform the consumer when buying,” the parent company Mondelez told AFP, which says it is committed “to continuous improvement work to reduce its environmental impact.”