A member of the European Parliament from Croatia, Biljana Borzan, warned this week that “skimpflation” is causing the quality of goods and services to decline throughout the EU.

The phrase “skimping,” refers to reducing the size of a product or service quality while maintaining constant prices to preserve profits as a cost-cutting strategy. Reduced staffing in retail establishments, substituting inferior ingredients for superior ones in products, or utilizing less expensive production techniques or machinery are all examples of skimpflation.

While real inflation measurements are “no longer at record-high levels,” Borzan claims that EU retailers have been beset by similar tactics since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine.

In an appeal to the European Commission published on the official website of the European Parliament, Borzan said, “Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, higher-quality ingredients have been replaced by lower-quality ones to produce many food products. This measure was initially intended to be temporary, but has persisted to this day. For instance, the shortage of sunflower oil has led to its substitution with palm oil in certain products.” The bloc’s market, she said, “has stabilized,” although some producers are still using palm oil since it’s less expensive.

She underlined, “It is particularly concerning that certain manufacturers have not informed consumers about the changes in ingredients on the packaging, and the nutritional values no longer correspond to the original data.” In order to ascertain whether the practice is “misleading to consumers,” she called on the Commission to examine it and devise countermeasures.

The legislative body has not yet provided an official answer to Borzan’s letter.

Throughout the past two years, the European Union has experienced a crisis related to rising living expenses. Record highs in inflation have put pressure on household budgets, and the skyrocketing cost of energy and raw materials has forced numerous businesses out of business. A recession in 2023 was barely averted for the bloc. Many commentators attribute the problems to Brussels’ sanctions against Russia, which prevented the bloc from obtaining cheap energy resources from the nation, driving up the prices for the manufacture and shipping of a swath of other products throughout the bloc.