The government has made it mandatory to display pre-cooking chicken weight and rolled out measures to curb "shrinkflation" in the dining-out sector, a practice of effectively raising prices by keeping the price the same while reducing the portion size. Officials concluded that hard-to-detect tricks on quantity are adding to the burden of food prices.
According to the "Measures to respond to quantity tricks (shrinkflation) in the food sector" released jointly by relevant ministries on the 2nd, chicken restaurants must display the pre-cooking weight of chicken on menus starting on the 15th of this month. Whole chicken, boneless chicken, combos, wings, and drumettes are among the main items covered.
Next to the chicken price, restaurants must show the weight in grams (g), such as "pre-cooking weight 990g," or, when cooking by the whole-chicken unit, use the size grade together, such as "size 10 (951–1050g)." The same weight labeling must be used on delivery apps and franchise websites.
The government also recommended self-regulation for large franchises to notify consumers when prices go up or portions go down. For example: "Starting on the 1st of next month, the weight of boneless chicken will be adjusted from 650g to 550g. The price per gram will increase in part." Determining that making this mandatory across all dining-out businesses would overly burden small operators, the system will first apply to large franchises.
The targets are the 10 leading chicken franchisors—BHC, BBQ, Kyochon Chicken, Cheogajip Seasoned Chicken, Goobne Chicken, Pelicana, Nene Chicken, Mexicana Chicken, Gcova Chicken, and Hosigi Two Chicken—and their 12,560 affiliated outlets. To ease the burden on the self-employed, the government will run a guidance period through June 30 next year, after which violations will face administrative actions such as corrective orders and business suspensions.
Consumer monitoring of the dining-out sector will also be strengthened. Starting in the first quarter of next year, the Consumers Association Council will purchase sample products from the five major chicken brands each quarter and disclose comparisons of weight and price. The council will open a "quantity trick reporting center" on its online channels to take consumer reports year-round and will pass cases suggesting legal violations to the Fair Trade Commission and the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety. The government will support these activities with budget funding.
In the processed foods sector, existing oversight will be tightened. Based on weight information currently provided by some manufacturers and distributors, the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) has conducted monitoring and the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety has issued administrative actions. The government will increase the number of companies providing weight information and, by revising the enforcement rules of the Food Labeling and Advertising Act in the second half of next year, enable orders to suspend production of items for violators. Consumer groups and the consumer agency will select popular processed foods and items with many reports and provide brand-by-brand information comparing weight, price, and materials and supplies.
The government will also establish a public-private consultative body that includes industry and associations with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Fair Trade Commission, the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The body will regularly discuss plans to root out quantity tricks, measures to stabilize prices, and ways to ease burdens on the self-employed under the weight-labeling system. The government will promote the new system through press releases, card news, and social media (SNS), and will prepare "weight-labeling guidelines for the chicken sector" and conduct trainings for local governments and industry.
☞Shrinkflation: Shrinkflation is a portmanteau of shrink, meaning "to reduce," and inflation, meaning "price increases." It refers to achieving the effect of raising prices by keeping the sticker price the same while reducing the quantity or size. Because shrinkflation reduces only the weight without changing the price, it is not captured in statistics and the "perceived cost of living" rises further.