Holy Mackerel, StarKist Downsizes Tuna
Something is fishy at StarKist. In a move that will likely ripple through the entire tuna industry, the company has just downsized their tuna cans.
*MOUSE PRINT:
A customer service representative for StarKist explained that tuna prices have reached an all-time high, and coupled with the increased cost of transportation and other ingredients, they had to make a change. Instead of increasing the price, she said, they decreased the can size.
Putting an environmental spin on the downsizing, the company said it will save two million gallons of water a year, while only taking out two teaspoons of tuna from each can.
Tuna has a long history of being downsized. Once upon a time, tuna came in 7 ounce cans (at least solid white did). Then, cans were downsized to 6.5 oz., then 6-1/8 oz., and finally to 6 oz. maybe a decade ago. All the while, what had originally consisted of solid pieces of chunk light tuna fish, became a mush of too little fish and too much ocean.
[Note to readers: Because we are seeing more and more of these sneaky, backdoor price increases, Mouse Print* will only bring you news like this when a major product category is downsized.]
I guess at least they didnt try to deceive the consumer by advertising a “new and improved” can. I still wish they would just increase the darn price.
Comment by Peter — August 11, 2008 @ 7:01 amSave two million gallons of water? Well, how about less water and more tuna in each can? Has anyone figured out the actual weight of the fish sans the water?
Comment by Frankie — August 11, 2008 @ 7:52 amThis will make them more money than increasing the price, for if you need 6oz of tuna you now need to buy 2 cans instead of just one…
Comment by Drak — August 11, 2008 @ 8:01 amTo say that decreasing the can size is environmentally preferable is utter nonsense. The amount of packaging material per unit of product increases as the package shrinks (assuming the package keeps its shape, as seems to be the case here).
Comment by Willie — August 11, 2008 @ 8:42 amI’m throwing out all my recipes that call for 6 oz. of tuna and only keeping the ones that call for tuna in multiples of 5 oz. Problem solved!
PEACE OUT!
Comment by Shawn — August 11, 2008 @ 8:45 amRight now, in a “6oz” can of tuna, you will get approxiomately 3 – 3.5 oz of tuna. Yes, I have a food scale and regularly check, cause stuff like this makes me mad. I wonder how much that will go down with the new size can
Comment by Kelley — August 11, 2008 @ 9:11 amAt least they didn’t keep the can the same size and simply add more water.
Comment by alba — August 11, 2008 @ 9:25 amKelley: According to the article, you’ll be losing 2 teaspoons worth. Sounds like a good chunk to me!
Comment by Frankie — August 11, 2008 @ 9:44 amWhy not show the name of any national company that does not down size the package but just increases the price (which I would prefer)
Edgar replies: Starkist is the only company at the moment with 5 oz cans. Chicken of the Sea, Bumble Bee and others are all still 6 ounces.
Comment by Lee Lewis — August 11, 2008 @ 10:05 amGood thing I buy the foil pouches – those are still 3 oz each.
Comment by ajewel — August 11, 2008 @ 10:17 amJust checked the Starkist site and the first main dish recipe listed says:
“1 (7-oz.) pouch or 2 (3-oz.) pouches or 2 Cans (6-oz.) StarKist Albacore”
It will be interesting to see how long before the recipes, on their site, are altered to reflect the 5-oz cans.
Comment by Richard B. — August 11, 2008 @ 8:14 pmI have noticed Flats of Coca-cola and Pepsi are now 20 cans per Flat instead of 24.Others brands have followed suit as well.
Comment by Bill — August 12, 2008 @ 3:47 pmPlease keep telling about all the brands that do this. I know some readers will not like it but I love it. I would rather know what brands sizes to avoid. I am with the crowd that says to just change the cost. Let us do a hypothetical. If a 6 oz can cost 2 dollars and taking into account that 1 ounce costs $0.33. Thus a 5 oz can costs $1.66. They are making $0.34 per can sold for example. This is just simple math nothing taken into account.Why don’t they just make the 6 oz can $2.17 and call it a day. I would rather pay the $0.17 more than feel like they cheated me because that is how I am feeling now. I have to feed children and adults and thus my having to make multiple trips to the grocery store gets on my nerves. Raise the prices but keep the size. The enviornment is not being helped. They are cans that are going to be recycled. I think that any product that goes to a smaller container and keeps the same price is dishonest and really makes me feel like we can live without that product. Not all the companies are doing this. It is just simpler to switch to another brand that is maybe not comparable but will have to do or just live without it. These are brands we have trusted for years and have come to depend on. They are taking the trust and smashing it down like this can of tuna. Apparently brand loaylty is a thing of the past. And for those who do not like the price hike think about this. In a few months even though they made smaller containers they will raise the prices and say gee everyone else is doing it so we are too. So you will get the smaller size and a higher price. They are doing this in the forefront so when they do it on the backend it will be okay because they will have a “lower price” compared to everyone else but in reality we will all be bamboozeled because most consumers will have forgotten by then.
Comment by Amy — August 12, 2008 @ 3:59 pmWell, this seems like an ideal way to slim the bulging waists of Americans! Food gets downsized and Americans lose weight. National obesity problem solved!
Comment by Lena — August 12, 2008 @ 5:57 pmWell, every time they make things smaller, I realize that it’s just a matter of time before the marketing team comes up with something like “The all-new 8-oz family size” so they can justify a price increase…and eventually do away with the 3.75-oz can that used to be 5-oz which was once 6oz after being downsize from…
It’ll happen in ice cream, potato chips, detergent (well, maybe not for a while since they’ll first increase the concentration while shrinking) etc.
Comment by RS — August 13, 2008 @ 12:56 amEventually all the products will be so small they can’t be downsized any more and they’ll *HAVE* to just start increasing the prices….
Comment by Rassi — August 13, 2008 @ 2:14 pmBTW: So do these kind of price increase count towards official inflation figures? Do you know if the bean counters that make up the inflation numbers, actually pay attention to this? Or does the grocery shrink ray stay under the radar?
Edgar replies: A reporter recently told me that the Bureau of Labor Statistics *does* take into account size changes.
Comment by Jasper — August 14, 2008 @ 10:31 amWhen I first noticed (as an immigrant, it took me a while) the shrinkage of packages in store, I thought it was my eyes or my imagination was shrinking. After figuring out the name of the game, I decided to avoid those products that insult my intelligence. Eddy’s Ice Cream was “on-sale” today, the size of the package is a lot smaller! What do we call that? a good deal?
Comment by Carol — August 16, 2008 @ 1:17 pmI really believe this is a deceptive practice in that these companies think most consumers won’t notice the size difference. The nutritional info on these cans still states “about” 2 servings. Each serving still states “56 grams drained”. However, these 56 gram servings used to have 15 grams of protien while the “new” cans have only 12 grams of protien for the same 56 grams. (I’m refering to the
Comment by Eric — August 16, 2008 @ 4:46 pmGourmet Choice Solid Light in Water 5.5oz vs. new 4.5oz)
I buy canned tuna for the protein since I regularly lift weights. One old can provided the perfect portion size for my routine. The reduced size is simply insufficient for my needs.
I really hope the other tuna companies are listening because they now have the opportunity to gain many new customers if they don’t follow StarKist’s insipid move. I buy over 30 cans per month. If others like myself change brands, this will have a huge impact on their bottom line!
OMG! Whatever will I do????
Comment by Bethany — August 18, 2008 @ 2:53 pmBig deal! I am sooooo not concerned with this. Am I all alone in this world?
Knowing is fabulous, but I just can’t see the huge impact on my life. Perhaps I do not eat enough tuna or perhaps I buy too much generic/store brand…
Bethany,
Not every product is going to apply to you, ever. I don’t drink Orange Juice, but I see no reason to go tell Edgar to shove off becuase I don’t buy that product. This is a place for information about the deceptive practices of diffrent companies. The article does just what it was designed to do.
Comment by Chris S. — August 18, 2008 @ 5:16 pmThey are also reducing the pouch size from 7.06 ounces to 6.4 ounces so stock up.
Comment by dnelon — August 19, 2008 @ 3:05 pmI wonder if there are consumer surveys out there that indicate consumers would prefer product downsizing over price increases. I really can’t see why companies just don’t raise the price. If you’ve been shoppinglong enough, you expect price increases, or at least I do.
Comment by Constance — August 21, 2008 @ 8:28 amI googled and found this site, strangely enough, specifically because of tuna fish. I bought two 4-packs of StarKist last month, and one day while making some sandwiches I noticed the new 5 oz. size.
I’m in my 50′s now, so I started thinking…”I know I can remember the size once being 6 1/2 ozs”…which this site confirmed. But I got more of a kick about the *mush* part, because it is so true. I can remember a time when you would have to *break down* the pieces of tuna to make a sandwich. I still love tuna, but I think it’s time for me to upgrade to the solid.
Now, to look and see if there’s proof of my other pet peeve…I can swear that growing up(and as a teenager making and eating it nearly every day) Kraft Mac-n-Cheese was so much cheeeeeesier(“oranger” lol) than it is now…and what was it back then, .10c a box?
Comment by Craig — September 13, 2008 @ 6:35 amSpeaking of tuna and fine print, I remember that the solid white was packed in oil or
Comment by Steve — September 18, 2008 @ 6:52 pm“spring water”. I noticed a while back that the packed-in-water stuff now has
vegetable broth containing soy which I don’t want. When (and WHY) did that happen?
Anyone else notice? Seems to me that would add to their cost.
“Ask any mermaid you happen to see . . . What is the best TUNA? . . .
Comment by Justin Skaggs — October 13, 2008 @ 6:09 pm(Chicken of the Sea)” << This comment only means I am switching brands.
The only comment I have for STARKIST is “Sorry Charlie”.
Tonight I just noticed that the Starkist Tuna Creations foil package (Hickory Smoked) went from 5oz to 4.5oz in the past few months. Amazingly, the Nutrition facts remain essentially the same except it quotes: “Servings per container: about 2.5:” The 5oz package stated: “Servings per container: 2.5″.
Smaller package and their math worse. They know that more people will look at the Nutrition label then the weight on the front. If regular Starkist consumers see the 2.5 they might think it’s the same.
I recommend a new statement. “2 servings with hardly enough left over for your cat.” WE caught you again Starkist!
Comment by Courtney J — October 15, 2008 @ 9:12 pmWell, I was blind sighted last night, and it seems Bumblebee Tuna has also taken 1 oz. off their cans and joined Starkist with a 5 oz. packaging. I did not notice until I arrived home and stacked them next to my older cans of Bumblebee tuna. Only Chicken of the Sea remains at 6 oz. now.
Comment by Pumapayam — October 21, 2008 @ 12:50 pmWallmart now sells the 5 ounce cans of Starkist but increased the price 21 Cents so where is the savings?
Fuel prices have gone down, “all of a sudden supply and demand has been lowered”, yet food and goods are still at an all time high. I guess those profits are hard to give up.
I buy local farmers market fruits and vegtibles. Aldis where I live have no problem of selling Dole Bananas for for 42 cents pp yet everwhere else they are between 57 and 69 cents per pound. Aldis doesn’t pay Visa or Mastercard their cut either because they only take cash or a bank card.
Is just it me or is GREED the driving force here in the good old U.S.A.?
KP
Comment by Kevin Preston — October 27, 2008 @ 1:07 amI’m 42. When I was 12, I used to make my own tuna sandwiches on Wonder bread.
It always was the same:
1 can gave me 2 sandwiches and there was left over tuna.
Today, I need a cheesecloth to drain the tuna and i get 1 sandwich per can.
Who do they think they are? There’s more water in there than tuna.
Just have them put 6 oz of tuna in there and double the price!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by MP — October 27, 2008 @ 2:14 pmAll the tuna manufacturers have followed suit: Starkist, Chicken of the Sea, BumbleBee and even the house brand @ WalMart are all 5oz now. Even the “chunk white” is in the smaller cans. Just like others, I would have preferred that they be honest with us & just raise the price. This practice of disception should be illegal.
Comment by jim — November 2, 2008 @ 6:05 pmUnfortunately, with the current economy expect to see more of the same with other products.
This package downsizing is going to continue. Companies must assume that the average consumer is mindless and that stunts like this go unnoticed. The ice cream industry recently pulled the same deception by decreasing the long time standard of 1/2 gallon to something less than that. That is an additional outrage. Watch out for milk next.
I was really glad to find this forum because I just went to buy tuna tonight (first time in many months because we had stock) at Wal-Mart and noticed that ALL of the cans were 5 oz. I am mad and outraged.
The reasons given by Starkist are a lie. It only saves water if they sell less total tuna. If they sell 5 million oz in the 6 oz can and 5 million oz in 5 oz can, it is still 5 million oz and the accompanying water stays the same. As one like minded poster wrote, just stuff more tuna in the six oz can, raise the price, and save water galore!
Watch out, our lovely oil companies will start selling gasoline by some unit of measure less than a gallon. Our government might even make one up—-how about something like an ECO Unit. Does’nt that sound nice? An ECO unit of gasoline happens to cost only 49 cents. Oh wait, it is only 1/8 of gallon.
This kind of stuff is going to continue unless we can stop it. I love this forum and I am so happy that I am not alone in my disdain for antices such as the on that Starkist pulled.
Comment by Chris — November 11, 2008 @ 7:44 pmI wrote Wal-Mart and told them I thought this was *crap*. Got a nice “thanks, but who cares” email back. I HATE this deception. It is hidden inflation and we have to stop it. Mouse Print – what do we do other than write and tell these idiots off?
Comment by Kim — November 18, 2008 @ 11:34 pmI thought I was losing my mind. I used my Mom’s tuna casserole recipe (the one I’ve carried in my head forever) and it came out terrible! I thought I was losing my touch–or my mind! It was several weeks later I noticed the size change. Disgusting! Just raise the price. Dishonesty is much more negatively impressive than real inflation.
Comment by Gus Shaver — December 4, 2008 @ 5:47 pmA 6oz can of tuna fish was one of those perfect things in life. One 6oz can, two sandwiches. Now I have to open 2 5oz cans, have too much tuna fish and twice as much waste.
Said another way, the price for 2 tuna sandwiches just DOUBLED and the packaging waste also DOUBLED. This is just another situation where an increase in manufacturer profits results in consumer, the environment and plain old common sense is both screwed AND insulted.
Comment by mykebee — December 5, 2008 @ 6:14 amI just sent a Dear Charlie letter to StarKist. Been watching the water content increase for years and the ” Solid White Albacore ” has more shredded scraps and less ” SOLID “. Today was the worst , not one part of this can had a solid piece in it. I used to be a commercial fisherman and I know how the expenses involved in making a fishing trip can impact the bottom line so I’ll just tell StarKist what I used to tell my coke dealer 25 yrs ago,” keep the cut and I’ll pay you cut price for 1/2 gram.” Don’t need the water or the scraps when I’m willing to pay for ” Solid “.
Comment by Brian Baru — December 19, 2008 @ 5:18 pmI can’t imagine that it didn’t cost a fortune to retool the machines to produce smaller cans, redesign and print smaller labels, different box sizes, etc, all for a product no one seems to be happy with. I’m all for smaller portion sizes but that’s for JUNK FOOD. Why is lean protein so expensive but a cheap fast food burger huge? People are responsible for making these food choices but the food industry doesn’t make it easy.
Comment by Amber K — December 23, 2008 @ 7:59 pmThis is RIDICULOUS. I thought I, too, was going crazy when eating a can of tuna just didn’t seem to fill me up in the same way, and that what contents *were* left seemed to disintegrate into water. I’ve mostly always bought generic anyway (except for a sale) but now even those are shrinking. This really isn’t cool AT ALL for those on a tight budget, because tuna is a high quality lean protein and a diet main-staple for the cash-strapped.
What if we all made little signs to stick under shelves of grocery stores (attach with a little tape or something) which would read something to the effect of “NEW!! SMALLER SIZE HIGHER PRICE” or something to that effect, in order to make aware fellow consumers? I could see this becoming a viral marketing campaign. We need some way of getting people just so riled up/informed that it gains a significant amount of media attention and consumer outrage.
Comment by Lauren — December 26, 2008 @ 3:01 amWell, all the other tuna companies have now downsized to 5 ounces as well. I held out and bought the other brands in the old 6 oz. size as long as I could, but now they are all so ridiculously small I can’t bring myself to buy them. Instead I buy the foil packets. I realize they are being downsized as well, but at least I can get a couple sandwiches out of them. (For now) I agree with all the people on here who say they would rather the companies just raise the price, but then, they’ll soon be doing that in addition to cheating us with the miniscule cans.
Comment by Mary — January 7, 2009 @ 8:42 pmHere’s how you can fix this:
(1) Take a can-opener to your favorite grocery store.
(2) Buy a can of “chunk” tuna.
(3) Open it in the parking lot. After verifying that’s it’s really mush, take it back into the store, demand to speak to the manager, and demand your money back.
(4) Repeat steps 1 thru 3 until the manager gets the point.
Here’s how the store manager can fix it:
(1) Find one of the few brands (mostly “store” brands) that still sell real chunk tuna. Stock a bunch of it, no matter what the price.
(2) Put the real chunk tuna on the shelf under a big sign saying “real chunk tuna.”
(3) Put the other tuna on the shelf under a big sign saying “watery tuna mush.”
(4) Rake in the profits from selling “real chunk tuna.”
(5) Haul the mush to the nearest toxic waste dump.
- Ray Eston Smith Jr
Comment by Ray Eston Smith Jr — January 7, 2009 @ 11:10 pmGrrrrrr. I am not a big tuna eater, but decided I’d like a tuna sandwich so opted to pay for the “best” brand and bought BB Solid White Albacore for almost $4.00 for one can. Just opened it up and it is 80% MUSH ! How in the world do they get away with this? I am appalled! And this was supposed to be SOLID not CHUNK
Comment by Lynn — January 22, 2009 @ 3:52 pmYou should stop eating tuna anyway — it has too much mercury to be safe except in very small amounts.
Comment by Barbara Eaton — February 1, 2009 @ 3:24 pmWell, I just purchased a can of Starkist Solid White Tune. The Net WT is now magically gone down to 4.5 OZ Can you believe it!!
Comment by Carol — February 5, 2009 @ 3:07 pmI saw this happen in our vending machines. The sizes of the chips bags shrunk and then the price went up. My solution was to simply stop buying chips. Also try finding a vending machine that sells cans!!!! I am forced to buy a huge 20 oz bottle that I never can finish and always seems less fizzy or satisfying than a can. Finally I did see the 5 OZ tuna selling in my grocery for 2.25 .. talk about ripoff. I called the manager over and told him that I will be organizing a store boycott from my coop nearby to protest the outrage!!!! We have the power… just stop paying for it and they will realize they hit the lowest tolerable level of service!
Comment by Menachem — February 24, 2009 @ 8:35 amHershey corporation reduced the snack packs of candies such as Almond JOY & Mounds from 10 to 8 pieces. Then they took the small piece of candy in this pack and reduced the size of it. Then the toilet paper companies reduced the size of each sheet of paper. Now the Tuna companies have disgraced themselves with this corporate greed. The executives are afraid they are not going to make a 6 figure salary as usual. We get less food while they continue to stuff their faces at our expense. They should use this money for their Doctors when they are dying of guilt. Starkist, Bumble Bee, and the others, you are a disgrace and we wish the worst.
Comment by Eric — March 5, 2009 @ 3:32 pmStarted seeing signs of this a few months ago with the name brands. I generally avoid name brands anyway since store brands provide superior “solid” tuna. Was recently dismayed to enter a store and see that all cans, even the “store brands” had been reduced to 5oz. Almost swore off tuna entirely…
…until I noticed a cage filled with “Ace of Diamonds” tuna still in 6oz cans. All tuna was the same price, and I know I like AoD, so I cleaned them out while giving the finger to the other cans. (Silly I know).
Most disturbing of all, I made a point to explain to TWO patrons what was happening. Both shrugged it off and bought their 5oz cans of ocean mush. Maybe the tuna companies DO understand their customers.
If Ace of Diamonds maintains its 6oz can, they will be my exclusive source of tuna. I saw a recent Price Chopper display of 6oz store tuna, so there may be hope.
Comment by Warren Europe — May 26, 2009 @ 3:34 pmWow, I didn’t realize just how out of hand this whole downsizing thing had gotten. I thought it was just me
Comment by Lee Massey — July 24, 2009 @ 2:28 pmdiscovering this fraud. I am glad to see that we are all aware of what these companies are doing, but what
can we really do about it that will make a difference? I am about ready to stop buying canned and processed
food and start buying from local farmers and fishermen…. then canning my own!
I just compared a can of Bumble Bee (5oz) to StarKist (6oz).
When opening the Bumble Bee, I got about 3.5 oz, and with the StarKist, I got 4.7 oz..
MY Question is… Isn’t this a Department of Weights And Measures Violation? I know they will fine companies of soft drink measure isn’t Exactly the amount on the label..
Also, I will NEVER buy Bumble Bee again as it looks more like Tuna Pate’ than “tuna”. The “Chunk Light” version of their tuna looks like cat food.
Actually, I think my cat gets better tuna in her food than I do now!! LOL
Ron, you are thinking of the term “drained weight”, which is the weight of the product but not including the fluid it is packed in. These cans are “net weight” which *does* include the weight of the fluid. So, there is no violation.
Comment by FiOSRon — August 4, 2009 @ 12:11 amCORRECTION.. I compared Bumble Bee to CHICKEN OF THE SEA. Sorry!
Comment by FiOSRon — August 4, 2009 @ 12:16 amIN either case, Chicken of the Sea claims there are 2.5 servining in their can, which is their “idea” of a 1/4 cup of tuna.
Really , none of this seems legal. IT is a huge deception.
Thank you for the clarificaion,
Comment by FiOSRon — August 4, 2009 @ 1:54 pmBut I think we can all agree that they have really lessened the amount of actual good product we receive, and it’s truly a call for “buyer beware”!
Thanks!
LIARS. as everyone says, its just an underhanded way to increase unit price. they sneak it in there, in a can that almost looks the same (just a bit thinner), in hopes that no one will notice. the next thing that will happen is that, when everything has quieted down and they think the size switch is a success, they will increase the price, so they get a two stage increase. over time, no one will remember that cans used to be 6 oz, just like i dont remember them being 7oz, and they will have pulled it off. good job guys.
the consistency of the product is another issue. all the ‘old timers’ i talk to say that tuna used to be solid and brighter in color, you know, looking more like actual fish that someone would catch, as opposed to the gross pulp they push on us now. when you process tuna, some of what you have is solid, and the leftover that lies in the bottom of the equipment is the gross process waste. clearly, the solid stuff is more expensive than the liquidy by-product, and over the years, in their greedy quest for more profit, more of the waste has made it into the cans, until you have what we have now: the ‘regular’ tuna is now pure process waste, and if you want the slid stuff you have to buy the super expensive ‘solid albacore’. has anyone noticed, though, that even the solid albacore is now getting mushier and mushier? what this means is that soon we will have 3 grades, the regular, the white, and the ‘new solid’, at 3 times the price of course.
these guys are true scoundrels. liars. cheats. [message edited]
Comment by jtl — August 10, 2009 @ 1:46 amMy wife has complained about this for some time now. There is definately less tuna, the tuna is MUSH, and it doesn’t taste right. We used to love tuna sandwiches, but my wife is such a picky eater- she refuses to eat (or even prepare) the black, red and silver parts of the fish so by the time she finishes picking out the “nasty parts”, there’s only enough tuna for one sandwich! She has been telling me that she’s going to write to the company; glad I found this site.
I agree jtl, even the “solid albacore” is mush. We have yet to find a nice solid tuna even when paying a ridiculous price.
Comment by Mike — November 3, 2009 @ 3:39 pmbuy your tuna at Costco. They still sell it in 7 ounce cans. Big chunky albacore.
Comment by Welshdog — August 22, 2010 @ 3:21 pm