I don't know how long this has been going on, but I think it is pretty new. Today the sale adds for groceries came to the house. I saw that Starkist Tuna was on sale, 2 cans for $1.00. I know that this is a really good price now, so I planned on stocking up.
Then I looked a little closer; tuna cans used to hold 6 1/2 ounces, but these cans hold 5 ounces, a substantial difference when amounts are that small. Elsewhere in the ad, another brand of tuna was advertised, and the can size was 5 ounces there, too.
A lot of manufacturer's are doing this. Most ice cream containers don't hold a quart anymore, for example. Keep your eyes peeled for this kind of thing. We can't do anything about it, but if I find any cans of tuna in the old size, I'll buy those instead.
By Free2B from North Royalton, OH
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Also, I have noticed that the Shrimp packages are smaller. They used to be 16 oz. bags of frozen shrimp, now they are 14 oz.
The Folgers cans have gotten progressively smaller over just one year! They went from 32, to 30 and now to 28 ounces! For the same or even a higher price! Also the Miracle Whip jar shrunk by 2 ounces. I may have not noticed these changes, but I save the containers for other uses (dried bean storage, freezer containers, etc.)
We think we are getting a good deal and we are actually paying more! Amazing!
This has been going on for years. Anytime the packaging is changed, check the contents. It's a good bet that that has been reduced slightly so we don't really notice right away.
Your advice for checking the ounces is excellent not just to keep an eye on the shrinkage and cost but also because even an ounce or two difference can adversely affect certain recipes. That's why I always give ounce amounts when stating items like cans that are called for in the ingredients list. Even butter is no longer always packaged the old fashioned standard way. The butter I purchase has 8 sticks per pound instead of the old standard of 4 sticks per pound. Can you imagine if I simply said one stick of butter, mine being 2 oz, and someone tried the recipe with their 4 ounce stick? :-o
Yep, sadly product reduction/packaging changes has been going on for a really long, long time now. It's the same with everything including TP and paper towels; the rolls aren't as wide and the number of individual sheets have been reduced. :-(
Many packages of sugar are no longer 5 pound bags any more. They now are 4 pounds and cost the same as the 5 pound bags or just slightly less.
You just now noticed the smaller tuna cans? :-) It's been that way quite a while. Used to be, you used 1 can for Tuna Helper but now it states to use 2 cans! You barely get much yield on a 5 oz. can of tuna these days. Even when I add ingredients to stretch it, I doubt we get more than 2 good sized sandwiches. I wonder if they will shrink any lower? I LOVE tuna so I'll still buy but it does make me mad. This has happened with many products, like coffee, sugar, etc. We pay the same or more but get less!
This is not a new process. I know that manufacturers have been doing this for the past 40 years, maybe longer. What bothers me is that they keep the same size packaging and it's half empty.
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