Consumers are currently painfully feeling the effects of high inflation with rapidly rising prices for food and everyday goods. A recent sample from the Hamburg Consumer Center shows that they often have to pay additional money for a lot of packaged air. The estimated air content is between 50 and 95 percent for a total of 15 products selected based on consumer complaints, which the consumer advocates had examined using X-rays.
Products no more than half full
All 15 articles reviewed are at most half full, and many have even less content. The leader in a negative sense is a plastic container with vitamin B12 tablets from KAL, which only fill about five percent of the package; the air content is 95 percent. With around 65 percent air, a baking mix for banana bread from Baetter Baking, an almond biscuit from Ricciarelli, a ready-made mix for an apple and nut mug cake from Lizza and the Knorr ham croissants also performed particularly poorly.
“Even organic manufacturers, whose products actually stand for more sustainability, waste valuable resources with air packs and at the same time deceive their customers ,” says Armin Valet from the Hamburg Consumer Center angrily. Four of the 15 products examined carry an organic seal.
Laws not in the spirit of consumerism
“Especially when money is tighter, people rightly expect properly filled packs for their money,” says consumer advocate Valet. “However, with air packs they are being duped by the manufacturers.” Many companies would take advantage of missing or vague requirements in regulations and laws in order to make money.
From a purely legal perspective, air packs can hardly be prosecuted.
Calibration and packaging law gives manufacturers a lot of freedom in the design of their products. The Hamburg consumer advice center still regularly takes action against providers when possible. For example, consumer advocates recently successfully ensured that Unilever is no longer allowed to sell detergent in an oversized box and Lidl is no longer allowed to sell Bircher muesli in a half-empty can. A spice mixture from the NiceSpice brand has currently received a warning.
The consumer advice center can take legal action if the content is misleading. “If we want to punish oversized garbage packages per se, our hands are tied. “That’s why the legislature must finally create a better legal framework to protect both consumers and the environment,” demands Valet. Air packs waste resources and therefore damage the climate.
Don't buy air packs and complain
Until the legal situation changes, you should consistently leave goods with too much air on the shelf and complain to the manufacturer, advises Valet. The Hamburg consumer advice center provides a free sample letter for this purpose.
Note: All x-rays of the selected products as well as detailed information on the subject of air packs are published on the website of the Hamburg Consumer Center: www.vzhh.de/luftpackungen
source
Hamburg Consumer Center
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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )