EU deregulates packaging

Supermarket customers will soon have a wider range of choices in the size and amount of pre-packaged foods they buy, after the European Commission passed legislation deregulating food packaging earlier this month. The legislation - ostensibly to provide customers with a wider range of choices - could also complicate the shopping process and lead to dishonest pricing, say consumer advocacy groups.

The European Commission passed legislation May 11 deregulating the packaging of all foods and beverages, excluding wine and spirits, allowing producers in all member states to offer a potentially infinite number of size variations.

"To make it possible for consumers to compare prices, an indication of the product's price per kilogram is obligatory on the shelves, regardless of the product's size,"said Ton van Lierop, European Commission Spokesman for Enterprise and Industry.

Theoretically the legislation gives food producers the possibility to offer their products in an unlimited number of sizes. Due to the nature of packaging technology, however, it is unlikely that supermarket shelves will be filled with innovative packaging sizes, at least not soon.

Packaging machinery is commonly programmed to produce a specific size of label or package, often with a margin of variation as small as 0.2 millimeters. Any change in packaging requires the reprogramming or repurchasing of machinery. Though many companies may see packaging deregulation as a marketing opportunity, the cost and time of readjusting packaging machinery could be a deterrent to the process, Van Lierop said.