Column Judith Witte: Never skimp on quality

Warning: This text may contain sharp observations. Do not read the column if you are allergic to critical remarks.

Challenging times are ahead. The food industry is struggling with rising energy and labor costs, while climate change pressures raw material prices. We are facing more frequent droughts, severe downpours, and prolonged rainfalls. Crops will fail, and roads will flood. How does a food manufacturer keep their head above water amidst such uncertainties?

Meanwhile, everyday life continues. Let’s switch to some quintessential Dutch coziness. I’m at the breakfast table with my family, the kitchen smells of coffee (an absolute necessity). My son and two daughters are making their toasted bread. The girls have been choosing pure chocolate sprinkles from De Ruijter every single day for years. My son is more of a ‘Nutella-man’ (his own words). The conversation turns to shrinkflation, where manufacturers reduce the amount of a costly ingredient without notification. My now grown-up children inspect the label of ‘their’ toppings. Tampering with that would be meddling with their identity! Their mini-investigation yields nothing. They don’t know the original percentages after all, but it does unsettle them.

The Consumer Association conducted more extensive research. They have repeatedly exposed shrinkflation – the unnoticed reduction of packaging sizes. According to the association, manufacturers appear to be even more creative with shrinkflation (this is not a compliment). The reduction has no effect on taste, as taste tests conducted by manufacturers themselves suggest. However, it does impact the credibility and reliability of brands.

Almost weekly, I receive safety warnings. A packaging for currant buns that – oops, accidentally – contained sesame hamburger buns. That allergen is not on the label. On April 29, there was an official safety warning for SPAR orange cream puffs. ‘The product contains wheat flour (gluten). This is not listed on the label. Do not eat the cream puffs if you have gluten intolerance.’ The day after King’s Day, this is obviously too late…

For most people, food safety is not an issue with such errors in the production process. They can afford to disregard these types of warnings casually, just like precautionary allergen labels stating ‘may contain peanuts’ or ‘made in a factory that also processes soy’.

Facing the numerous challenges in the food industry absolutely requires genuinely creative solutions. How great it would be if the industry took the consumer (whom we all are) very seriously. Be honest and meticulous. Never skimp on quality. And certainly not on food safety.

Judith Witte
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