I ran to the store the other day to pick up a few items that we needed and some that we surely did not. One of those that we did not need but because we have had so many days in the 120’s, ice cream was on the list. Just the name of it made me feel cooler. Don’t get me wrong I am a true desert rat and can take the heat of the desert with the best of them but we are talking more days in the 120’s then has ever been recorded. Any way back to the ice cream. I bought some Dreyer’s which is a big name brand here in SoCal. When my wife and I went to have some that night we were looking at tub and noticed it had shrunk in size. I am not sure just how many ounces smaller it was but I know for a fact it used to be just shy of a full half-gallon, now it’s not even a full quart. Then I started to take notice of some of the other stuff I buy and guess what the cereals, cheese’s, sour cream all have been shrunk down.
When did all this happen? The price on these items has not been cut so why has the package size. I remember when you used to be able to by a case of soda which would be 24 cans. Long ago that was switched to 20 cans and now when we tell the checker at the store that we have a case of soda in the cart they know we mean a 20 pack. Again the price of the 20 pack runs more than the case did. Whats next are they going to make our 12 packs of soda 10 packs and tell us it was done so it will fit in the refrigerator better. Have they been slowly decreasing these items so we would not notice. My answer to that is yes. If you don’t believe me start looking at the items you normally buy. No longer do you find half gallons of milk, they have been cut down just a few ounces and slipped on the shelves and packed in tightly so you would not notice.
We really need to be aware of the shrinking goods because we are not paying any less and in most cases paying more. When we see a package that has been conveniently snuck in we should use our social media sites and make everyone aware, this way we can all start emailing these companies and voicing our thoughts about why. Do you remember the last time you actually saw a pound of coffee? That is another one that keeps on shrinking. How about those snack cakes you buy for your kids? The package looks the same on the outside but when you look at the product itself they are much smaller. All of these ounces we are losing add up and us as the consumer have a right to know just when they are decreasing the size of things and not giving us a cut in the price. It really makes me wonder just how long this has gone unnoticed.
Another thing that I have noticed a lot more of also is that more products are using high fructose corn syrup. Start reading your labels. That stuff is in everything and it has been proven to be harmful to our health. Even ice cream is now made with it. Why would they mess around with ice cream when it used to be made with such simple ingredients. Now I have to label read that also and let me tell you it is getting harder and harder to find a brand that just uses sugar as the sweetener. I can still find some of the Dreyer’s Ice Cream that doesn’t have the high fructose corn syrup but even that is getting to be a chore. I have found one brand of ice cream that no matter what flavor they make it does not have the HFCS in it and that brand is Tillamook. It is by far my favorite brand but not all the stores around here carry it. It also though does not come in a full half-gallon but 1.75 quarts which is still more than the Dreyer’s brand. I also notice now brands that use less ingredients like to advertise that fact and charge you more than the ones that have all the things in it that you cannot even pronounce. So now we have items that have shrunk in size and items that use less ingredients and those that could care less if they are poisoning us all still charging us more for less and that less includes the quality.
Okay now that I have gotten that out of my system I will remind you again. Watch the products you buy and see if they are shrinking and if they are let everyone know. Watch the products that have slipped in the HFCS and again let everyone know. Watch the products that tell you they are now using less ingredients like they used to but are charging more and once again let everyone know. We live in a time were social media has made us able to communicate with others instantly and if we start letting everyone we know and they pass it on to everyone they know then just maybe we can make a change in these companies that are shrinking the goods.