The "Competition bill", just approved in Italy by the Council of Ministers, in addition to introducing the new legislation on dehors, also provides for a measure to combat the phenomenon of so-called "shrinkflation". The latter practice consists in reducing the quantity of product, while maintaining the packaging unchanged, resulting, in fact, in a related increase in the price per unit of measurement. To this end, the Competition Bill provides for an obligation to provide information to the consumer through the affixing of a specific label to the displayed product.

Among the latest countries to have introduced measures against "shrinkflation" into their legislation, include France and South Korea (read EFA News). Beyond the Alps, the rule came into force on July 1st, and requires "large and medium-sized shops" to inform consumers about reductions in size of a product two months after the "marketing date".

In the Asian country, violators will be fined 5 million won (3,400 euros) for the first offense, and 10 million won (6,900 euros) for the second. Most manufacturers of processed foods and household items such as toilet paper, shampoo and detergent will have to display labels for three months if they scale back their product.