Overview
- The SPD concept asks retailers to offer a basket of low‑priced, price‑stable basic foods produced in Germany on a voluntary basis, drawing on Greece’s 2022 household‑basket model.
- The package includes mandatory labeling to flag shrinkflation or downgraded ingredients and proposes a state price observatory to trace price formation from farms to store shelves.
- Food prices have risen by more than 35% since 2020, and a Forsa survey for the consumer federation found 45% of respondents now cut back on food purchases, including 70% of households under €2,000 net income.
- Consumer group vzbv’s Ramona Pop backs clearer labeling and a price observatory to expose opaque increases, calling for swift action to relieve household budgets.
- Industry groups and the CDU reject the observatory as unnecessary, arguing discounters already offer low prices, and the plan’s impact remains uncertain without retailer buy‑in or a set timeline.