The Austrian Parliament is working on an innovative bill with the aim of unmasking shrinkflation, the now well-known practice spread throughout Europe and the world (and not recently!).
For those who don’t know it yet, with the term shrinkflation a phenomenon that is as subtle as it is widespread is indicated: producers reduce the quantity of product in the packages, keeping prices unchanged (or even increasing). The name comes from the fusion of the English words “shrink” (reduce) and “inflation” (inflation).
In practice, your favorite chocolate bar goes from 100 to 90 grams, detergent from 3 to 2.75 liters, chips from 200 to 175 grams. The packaging remains identical or almost identical, the price the same or higher. The result? We pay more to have less, often without even realizing it.
According to the Austrian Association for Consumer Information (VKI), among the most striking cases are packages of washing powder, dishwasher tablets, tubes of creams and bags of chips which, when opened, reveal surprising quantities of air compared to the actual contents.
The Iglo case which set a precedent in Austria
A recent episode has accelerated the debate in Austria. The VKI association is suing the Iglo company for its packages of frozen “Atlantic Salmon”. How come? The dimensions of the box were the same, as was the price, but the contents had been reduced from 250 to 220 grams.
In September 2025, the Vienna Court of Appeal ruled that this was a deceptive commercial practice. Iglo had to backtrack and restore the 250 grams. The ruling had a domino effect, pushing other manufacturers to be more cautious as well.
What does the Austrian bill provide?
On November 19, 2025, the Austrian National Council unanimously passed resolutions calling on the government to implement a law against shrinkflation by the end of the year. On 20 November, the draft laws were sent to the Economic Affairs Committee for public consultation, with a deadline for comments set at 2 December.
These are the main measures planned:
Anyone who violates the rules will first receive a rectification order within three working days, then if they do not comply, the fines will reach up to 2,500 euros per product (maximum 10,000 euros), doubled in the case of repeated violations (up to 15,000 euros in total).
Retailers who demonstrate that they were not informed by the manufacturer or importer about the reduction will not be sanctioned.
More transparency also on prices per kilo
In parallel, Parliament is considering changes to the law on price labeling. The new rules would establish minimum font sizes to ensure readability: 8 millimeters for the sales price and 4 millimeters for the unit price (per kilo or per liter) in traditional points of sale.
Another important point requires that the units of measurement are uniform within the same store for each product category, finally making it possible to immediately compare prices.
And in Italy?
In Italy there is a bill for the mandatory labeling of shrinkflation, but it continues to slip. Initially scheduled for April 2024 in the Competition Bill, then postponed to October 2025, entry into force is now set for 1 July 2026. Until then, consumers will have to continue to pay attention to the shelves to find out for themselves where the “deception” is hidden.
The Austrian law is not yet final, but the resolutions of the Parliament and the approval of the Council of Ministers show a strong commitment from the Austrian government to introduce shrinkflation labeling by the end of the year, barring any procedural delays. It could therefore become a model for other European countries, demonstrating that it is possible to protect consumers without paralyzing trade, simply by guaranteeing transparency and clear information.
