Excerpt from the New York Times “Ate a Whole Pint? Check Again” September 13, 2008
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REMEMBER the supersize phenomenon, when fast-food restaurants offered huge portions of soda and fries?
Some packaged foods that have shrunk in size include a jar of Skippy peanut butter, from 16.3 ounces down to 15 ounces, and a bag of Doritos chips, from 13 ounces to 12.5 ounces. The reverse is now happening in America’s supermarkets and big-box retailers. In industry lingo, it’s called short-sizing.
Aiming to offset increased ingredient and transportation costs, some of the nation’s food manufacturers are reducing the size of packages…Some companies possibly cut back on the quantity of product in a package in the hope that consumers wouldn’t notice or care. Judging by rants on various blogs, though, many consumers have noticed, and they do care.
Others have acknowledged that they have downsized products, but that has not stopped consumers from venting outrage…
Ice cream once was sold in half-gallon containers, but many companies shifted several years ago to 1.75 quarts. Now, with milk and egg prices soaring, many ice cream makers are selling 1.5-quart containers — without lowering the price…
Cereal boxes are becoming smaller, too, including those for Cheerios from General Mills and Apple Jacks and Froot Loops from Kellogg’s.
Frito-Lay has cut the size of Doritos, while jars of Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Skippy peanut butter have also shrunk recently…package sizes have also been reduced for…Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate bar, Iams cat food, Tropicana orange juice, Dial soap and Nabisco Chips Ahoy cookies…
Edit by SAC
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Full article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/business/14feed.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=%22Ate%20a%20Whole%20Pint?%22&st=cse&oref=slogin
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