McDonald's shrinks one of its flagship products: the fast food chain is accused of practicing shrinkflation

Lors de la commande d’une grande portion de frites, il n’y a aucune indication claire si un sachet de sauce est inclus (illustration). MAXPPP – GAETAN BALLY

McDonald's French fry sauce now comes in a smaller packet than before. And you'll have to pay for a second one.

McDonald's has recently been accused of practicing shrinkflation, a technique in which the size of a product is reduced without reducing its price. This time, the packet of French fry sauce has been reduced from 14 to 10 milliliters, a reduction of 28.6 percent, without warning consumers, reports RTL.

Same price for less sauce

McDonald’s responded to these accusations by explaining that each portion of fries ordered includes at least one sachet of sauce for free, as is customary in France. However, 60 million consumers points out that the prices of menus and individual portions of fries have not dropped. Customers must therefore pay the same price for less sauce, and if they want the same quantity as before, they must buy a second sachet of sauce, costing between 15 and 30 cents more.

The consumer association also denounces the lack of transparency of the McDonald’s application. When ordering a large portion of fries, there is no clear indication whether a sauce packet is included.

New regulations

A new regulation that came into force on July 1, 2024 requires large retailers to inform customers if a product size reduction results in a price increase per kilo. However, this regulation does not apply to restaurants, allowing McDonald's to change the size of its products without informing customers, a practice that has attracted criticism.