“There’s a reason why the tub of ice cream you bought last week looks a tad smaller than ones you bought last summer.

“It is,” writes Bruce Horovitz, in today’s USA Today.

He goes on to explain how instead of charging more, some manufacturers have “shrunk their standard containers.” Some examples he provided:

  • Some ice cream is now 1.5 quarts that used to contain 2 quarts (1/2 gallon)
  • Across the line, Frito-Lay’s chips that were 12 ounces are 10
  • Mayonnaise is 30 ounces down from 32
  • Kellogg downsized Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies and Mini-Wheats in 2006; boxes shrank from 24.3 ounces to 24 and from 19 ounces to 18.

Bruce quotes many industry experts, including yours truly. My not-so-pithy comments:

Few shoppers notice subtle changes in product contents, says Bonnie Tandy Leblang, the syndicated supermarket columnist. “Most just toss things in the grocery cart.”

To read the entire story go to USA Today.