Germany's Federal Consumer Association has called for stronger nutrition education for children and youth amid rising food prices. vzbv head Ramona Pop advocates for more consumer education in schools and awareness of food waste. She also proposes a food price monitoring office modeled on France.
Ramona Pop, head of the Federal Consumer Association (vzbv), told RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland: "It could indeed help in understanding this whole matter if nutrition were more strongly addressed as part of consumer education in schools." Similar demands have recently come from the German Nutrition Center.
Pop noted that consumer education has not yet been structurally integrated into curricula across all German states. The vzbv offers support but calls for greater awareness of food waste, such as the fact that products are not immediately spoiled after their expiration date.
She also proposed establishing a food price observatory, similar to France's model, to examine markets and reveal costs and prices. Currently, food price developments in Germany remain opaque.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, consumer prices rose 2.2 percent from 2024 to 2025. Increases were higher for food and drinks in gastronomy, especially chocolate: In December 2025, a bar cost 69 percent more than in 2020, sticks 72 percent more.
