Food/Groceries

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Here We Downsize Again – Part 2 (2012)

As prices for raw ingredients go up, package sizes go down. Here are a few of the latest examples of products which have been downsized.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Maxwell House

The really big container went from 34.5 ounces (270 cups) down to 30.6 ounces (240 cups) — a loss of 30 cups-worth per container. Thanks to Mouse Print* reader Karl K. for the tip.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Betty Crocker

Betty Crocker has downsized many of their cake mixes from the familiar 18.25 ounces to only 15.25 ounces. Funny thing, however, the package still says it makes two eight-inch rounds, but the nutrition label says there are only 10 servings in the new package rather than the old 12. Thanks to Terry for the lead on Betty Crocker.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Nathan's

Old reliable Nathan’s, the best-tasting frankfurter you can buy (says MrConsumer), still gives you eight “bigger than a bun” hot dogs in a package, but each one has gotten skinnier. The pound package is now just 14 ounces.

As with most cases of downsized products, you are paying the same price, but getting less. That is a sneaky way to essentially raise prices.

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Quiznos: Where’s the Lobster?

A TV commercial from Quiznos caught MrConsumer’s attention a couple of weeks ago. They were promoting a lobster sandwich, but the lobster looked funny. The pieces were uniform in shape, and looked more like tater tots than lobster pieces.

A second viewing of the commercial and freezing it explained all.

*MOUSE PRINT:

lobster sandwich

There is only 51% lobster in the fish portion of the sandwich. But to their credit, they did not call it “lobster sandwich” but lobster and seafood sandwich. And the only way that “lobster” could come first in the name is if the sandwich had (slightly) more lobster than “seafood”.

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That 100% Lemon Juice May Not be 100%!

We have all bought quart bottles of lemon juice, and probably assumed we were getting 100% lemon juice, just as the label specifies. Well, a little birdie tipped off the National Consumers League that they may be in for a surprise if they tested some of the bargain brands.

And that’s what they did for these four bottles found at discount and dollar stores:

lemon juice

It turns out that all four products were watered-down substantially.

*MOUSE PRINT:

“NaturaLemon 100% Lemon Juice from concentrate – Natural Strength” contains only about 35 percent lemon juice.

“Lira 100% Lemon Juice from concentrate” contains only about 25 percent lemon juice.

“Lemon Time Lemon Juice from concentrate” contains about only 15 percent lemon juice. The product states on its front label, “Contains 100% Lemon Juice with added ingredients.”

“Pampa Lemon Juice from concentrate” contains only about 10 percent lemon juice. The product states “Made with 100% Juice.” The label also includes the statement “Natural Strength.”

Right now, the average consumer has no way of knowing whether they are buying a diluted product or the real thing. We can only hope that by bringing this issue to the attention of the FDA, the government will move to remove these and other adulterated products from the market.

To view a video report about diluted lemon juice, click here.