Thousands of retail violations found in Croatia: Products sold above price caps, improper labeling cited

Croatian market inspectors have uncovered thousands of violations related to price control measures, with a significant number of products found to be sold above legally capped prices or improperly labeled. The State Inspectorate conducted 5,266 inspections from February 2025 to August 2026 to ensure compliance with government-imposed price limits on certain goods.

During these checks, nearly 26.4% of the inspections revealed breaches of regulations. A major issue was the incorrect visual identification marking for 4,866 items. Additionally, 455 products were found to exceed their maximum allowed retail prices. Inspectors also noted that in 1,030 cases, retailers failed to offer at least one item within the price limits for categories where such controls applied.

Further violations included 369 instances of failing to properly inform consumers. This encompassed not displaying required posters in 300 cases, and large stores (over 400 square meters) not allocating a separate area for price-controlled products in 22 instances. In 47 other cases, these designated areas lacked at least one item from each covered group.

Specific products frequently cited for violations included sugar syrup (232 instances), UHT milk with 2.8% fat (216), yogurt (212), and shower gel (204). Other items with numerous breaches were sanitary pads, chocolate, rice, carrots, and lemons. Violations were also recorded for sunflower oil, flour, whole chicken, gouda cheese, spaghetti, hot dogs, tomato paste, and toothpaste, among others.

The inspections also covered 71 product categories where retailers must stock at least one item below the maximum price. In 1,030 instances, no such item was available. Across 2,475 categories, at least one product lacked the required visual marking.