- El premio "Goldener Windbeutel" nominó al "Goldener Schnecke" de una panadería cierta, que vio un aumento de precio del 44% debido a la "reduccción de tamaño" (shrinkflation) de Unilever, su fabricante.
- El gobierno federal y Foodwatch, una organización de consumidores, han sido solicitados a implementar restricciones publicitarias en las galletas para la protección de los niños, extendiéndose esto a la diseño de embalajes.
- El "Goldener Schnecke" fue considerado un ejemplo particularmente astuto de reducción de tamaño, ya que Unilever redujo el tamaño del envasado mientras mantenía el precio.
- Unilever defendió su aumento de precio, atribuyéndolo a una respuesta a la creciente demanda por variantes de productos de menor tamaño y ajustes a varios factores, como mejores recetas y el uso de materias primas sostenibles.
- El gobierno federal y Foodwatch han expresado su preocupación por estrategias de precio negativas como esta en ciertos productos, como el "Goldener Schnecke", que presenta riesgos para la salud de los niños y engaña a los consumidores.
- El producto infantil Alete, fabricado por DMK, recibió críticas de Foodwatch por presentarse como suplemento de fruta, a pesar de que contenía más azúcar que la azúcar de mesa en ciertos productos procesados.
Fraude de etiquetas - "Sin azúcar añadido" ¡y una mierda! El premio Golden Windbag negativo es para el snack de frutas para niños de Alete
Even if the sugar in the snack is only fruit sugar, Foodwatch stated that this should not be evaluated better than household sugar in processed products. Childhood unhealthy eating can lead to serious health conditions such as Type-2 Diabetes in later life. The consumer organization called on the German government to introduce advertising restrictions on junk food for children's protection and to extend this to packaging design.
The manufacturer of the Alete product, the dairy conglomerate Deutsche Milchkontor (DMK), responded to Foodwatch's criticism and stated that there is an "enhancement of natural (fruit-)sugar" in the fruit gums. The company classifies the fruit gums as a "sweet snack" and not as a fruit supplement. According to the information provided, the packaging states that children should only consume one portion, which is a handful of fruit gums per day. This corresponds to five grams of the snack per day. The information is allegedly "transparently listed in the nutritional table".
Golden Windbeutel, Place 2: 44 Percent Price Increase through "Shrinkflation"
Five products were nominated for the Golden Windbeutel by Foodwatch. In second place, with almost 27 percent of the votes, was the Cremissimo Bourbon Vanille Ice Cream from Langnese. Foodwatch considers this to be a particularly cunning example of shrinkflation. The manufacturer Unilever reduced the packaging size from 1300 milliliters to 900 milliliters, but kept the price of 3.99 Euro. Foodwatch therefore speaks of a price increase of 44 percent.
Unilever responded to the nomination upon request from the news agency AFP, stating that the company is reacting to the increasing demand for smaller product variants in its range with the reduced content. The 900-milliliter packaging is a solution for households with lower ice cream demand or smaller freezers. The prices were also adjusted throughout the Cremissimo product line and took into account several factors, "including recipe improvements and the use of sustainable raw materials".
Place 3: Vegan Mortadella
The Vegan Schinken Spicker Mortadella from Rügenwalder Mühle took third place. Foodwatch considers the label "Based on Sunflower Seeds" to be misleading because the product only consists of sunflower protein to the tune of only two percent.
Rügenwalder sees no deception of consumers in this, as the company explained. The packaging always lists the ingredient that replaces the meat as the nutritional source. This does not necessarily have to be the ingredient with the largest proportion. The vegan mortadella received 11.1 percent of the votes.
Pretty Little Meal Bar from Offset Nutrition took the fourth and fifth places with 2.9 percent and 2.2 percent of the votes, respectively. Foodwatch criticized Offset Nutrition for marketing its bar as a "main meal replacement" in social media. In reality, it contained almost five sugar cubes. The "Hot Tin of Champignon Cream" from GB Foods Deutschland received criticism from Foodwatch for containing too little vegetable content.
Foodwatch awarded the Golden Windbeutel for the 13th time. The consumer organization has been engaged in labeling fraud for a long time and demands improved labeling regulations.
