The Incredibly Shrinking Product Strikes Again!

**beks37** · 01-09-2009, 09:37 PM

This is the first time that I have noticed something I use that has shrunk.

Starkist Tuna has gone from 6oz cans to 5oz cans. I thought the can looked smaller when I got it out of my pantry. I went to compare it to others I had that were older and sure enough it was smaller. The same diameter, but the height of the can was shorter. Very deceiving! The price is the same or more for the smaller can!

Anyone else notice any of your favorite grocery products are shrinking?

**Michelle68** · 01-09-2009, 09:40 PM

I noticed the same thing! The prices have gone up, but the cans have shrunk.

**guest002** · 01-09-2009, 09:43 PM

This so ticks me off!

**Patty A** · 01-09-2009, 09:46 PM

Sprite, now sold in 20 packs same price you use to get 24 cans for and its still called a case of pop!

**The Muse** · 01-09-2009, 09:58 PM

I think the size of Edy's former half gallons of ice cream have become laughingly small. They're not much bigger than a pint of Ben & Jerry's anymore!

**homesteadmamma** · 01-09-2009, 10:22 PM

Revels are so small you can hardly see them. I bought them as a treat just before Christmas. Higher in price, same amount in box, just a whole lot smaller.

**momof2joys** · 01-09-2009, 10:30 PM

I see this more and more!! It really makes me upset, how does this help our current econmic situation???? Sell things for the same price or more, but give you a smaller amout!! This IS NOT fair!!! It will be interesting to see how much more we are going to see of this trend!!

I guess I should have taken note a few years ago when all you could find for girls clothes were the short shirts and low rise jeans- somebody is trying to save some money/material!!! LOL!!!!

**Contrary Housewife** · 01-09-2009, 10:32 PM

OMG! Now that you bring it up, I thought the tuna I bought last week looked different. Chicken of the Sea moved from 6oz cans to 5oz too!

I remember when you could buy the giant Hershey bars, a full POUND of chocolate for $1.99. Now you get, what 8oz? It's nearly the size of the regular bar.

And yeah, the Edy's "half gallon" is not only now 1.5 quarts, but the price went up too!

**dcompton** · 01-09-2009, 10:37 PM

I heard an interview about this on public radio. Maybe yesterday on Marketplace Money, but I'm not sure where - all the news fades together. The manufacturers think it is quite fair and not deceptive. After all, the size is printed right there on the label. Which is true. They talked about especially Skippy peanut butter and cereal. With cereal, it looked the same size on the shelf, same height, but it was a thinner box. That's really sneaky!

The peanut butter folks said with prices going up, they had three choices - use cheaper ingredients, raise the price, or decrease the quantity and they chose the last.

For myself, I would prefer that the price just be raised. It seems more forthright.

**BlessedMomof2** · 01-09-2009, 10:44 PM

I noticed that very thing yesterday grocery shopping. I thought tuna use to come in 6 oz cans too, but all I could find was 5oz ones. I noticed it with other products I frequently buy. Although the size of the package is smaller the price is not, which is upsetting.

**The Muse** · 01-09-2009, 11:03 PM

Originally Posted by dcompton

The peanut butter folks said with prices going up, they had three choices - use cheaper ingredients, raise the price, or decrease the quantity and they chose the last.

For myself, I would prefer that the price just be raised. It seems more forthright.

I agree. The new sizes create issues for me when cooking from scratch because where I used to use a can of diced tomatoes, I now need to use a can and a quarter. That's just one example, but basically it's costing me more because I have to buy more than one package, then there's the issue of having an odd amount leftover and having to figure out how to use it up.

I'd much rather pay a little extra for standard size packages. I suppose new recipes will follow the new sizes, but still, I think it's sneaky and inconvenient.

**HandyMom** · 01-09-2009, 11:06 PM

They've used less materials while making the packaging smaller so that should be enough of a savings without them putting less in the package and charging more. Greed.

**Karla** · 01-10-2009, 02:40 AM

This is a huge pet-peeve of mine...mayo is now 30oz instead of 32. Thats just one of many items...it seems like all the time things are shrinking...we just don't seem to get our money's worth anymore.

**mamamia** · 01-10-2009, 03:08 AM

I couldn't believe it when I bought a pkge of Dentyne Ice, and the pieces of gum are so much smaller that you can hardly get it going to chew it.

It's ridiculous!

Theresa

**Patty A** · 01-10-2009, 08:09 AM

Most mayo jars, down from 32 oz to 30
chips, down from 12 oz to 10oz
cereal cutting anywhere from 1.5 oz to 2.3 oz
ice cream down from 1.75 quart to 1.5
Tropicana orange juice down from 96 oz to 89oz
Johnsonville brats down from 10 to 8 in a container
Tampons down two per box
Many pasta's are down from 1# to smaller amounts
Birds eye frozen peas down from 907g to 800 g with a 15% price increase.
Many frozen veggies down from 16 oz to 14.2
Toilet paper down length of each sheet cut from 4 to 3.7 inches per sheet.
3# coffee cans now 39 oz (for awhile now its been this way!)
Yogurt from 8 oz to 6 oz
Fabric soften sheets down from 40 to 36
general mills fiber bars 5 per package, most offer 6
Dial soap bars down from 4.5oz to 4 oz
8 oz hershey bar down to 6.8 15% smaller at same price
This is just a few I found looking around. It lets you know its happening with everything, not just food but all kinds of products.
Hope it soon stops as I feel like it is totally deceptive! Sneaky ways of charging the same price for less product and they get away with it because they put the amount in correctly. Thing is they don't change the package so you think you are getting the same amount you always have. And they always wonder why we don't trust!