Up and down grocery store aisles, customers are paying more as products are shrinking. CTV News viewers have noticed everything from smaller mustard sizes to toilet paper to bread loaves. The products get smaller, but not the price.
For example, a popular brand of bread now comes in a 520 gram package instead of 600. Consumer Reports says the practice is now rampant. It's a price hike that food companies' hope goes unnoticed.
"It's easier for them to simply shave a little bit off here, a little bit off there, and less likely to antagonize costumers. The fact of the matter is people know prices, but they don't know sizes," the magazine's Tod Marks said.
Some of the latest downsized items include Scott toilet paper -- rolls are now nine per cent smaller.
"Like many other toilet paper manufacturers, Scott is faced with rising costs. So to align themselves with the rest of the industry, they shrunk their roll, about nine percent in fact," he said.
But Scott isn't the only company shrinking products.
A jar of Miracle Whip is six per cent smaller. A carton of Tropicana orange juice is seven per cent smaller and Kellogg's has given Corn Pops an eight per cent downsize diet. And a container of Huggies Diaper wipes now can clean 24 fewer baby bottoms.
You can look at different brands to protect yourself. Minute Maid Juice containers still contain 1.89 litres. And unlike some ice cream containers, Ben and Jerry's has not shrunk.
Another option is to complain.
"Call the 800 number that's on the package of virtually every supermarket product that's out there and tell them, 'why did you do this?' Every time we did that we were offered coupons," he said.
And, of course, check labels carefully and watch out for other downsized products.
Remember, shrinkage is caused by the food manufacturer, not the store.
So, the solution is stocking up when there's a sale. You can also store brands, which can be 30 per cent cheaper with excellent quality.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen
