As inflation continues to plague shoppers at the grocery store, a new bill is looking to crack down on another practice - shrinkflation - that lawmakers say could be costing unwitting consumers even more.
Shrinkflation is a term used to describe the practice of companies selling their products in similar packaging, but with less weight, volume, or quantity meaning the consumer pays the same price for less product.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is among those in support of the Shrinkflation Prevention Act, which would expand the authority of regulators like the FTC and state attorneys general to open investigations into po
"For example, that good old bag of Doritos, five chips are now missing. The Oreos, missing a couple of Oreos in there. The toilet paper is just a little shorter roll than it was before. And the consumer, paying the same, gets less," the Democrat explained.
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The Shrinkflation Prevention Act of 2024 was introduced this week. Sen. Warren co-sponsored the legislation with U.S. Sen. Bob Casey.
You can find Casey’s December 2023 “Greedflation Report: Shrinkflation” here: https://www.casey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/shrinkflation_report.pdf
“When companies are passing along increases in costs to themselves, I totally get it,” says Warren. “But here's the deal…over the past few years, their profits have gone up, their profit margins by 75%. Now, that's not just passing along increased costs. If that were the case, profit margins would have stayed the same. Instead, it's using inflation kind of like a smokescreen.”
The legislation would direct the Federal Trade Commission to promote regulations to establish Shrinkflation as an unfair or deceptive act or practice, and authorize it to pursue civil actions against companies who engage in Shrinkflation.
It would also give state attorneys general authorization to bring civil actions against corporations engaging in Shrinkflation.
“The reason we want to get this legislation passed is so that we can have some federal muscle behind looking into all of the different companies, what they're putting out, what they used to charge, what's happened to their costs and what they're charging now,” Warren said. “It's putting a cop on the beat to make sure that giant corporations don't cheat our families in the grocery stores.”
The issue has been a persistent one alongside inflation in the last two years. President Joe Biden weighed in on Super Bowl Sunday, calling out companies selling snacks for the game to end the practice.
And it's not limited to the U.S. - earlier this year French grocery store chain Carrefour started adding labels to products affected by the practice.
Edgar Dworsky of www.consumerworld.org has been tracking Shrinkflation since 2006. He says this new legislation is a good first step for consumers.
“I’m thrilled to see that this has reached the Congress of the United States,” says Dworsky. “I never thought I would ever see that.My worry is that all the lobbyists for the food manufacturers will come out in droves and try to kill the bill before it even sees the light of day.”
Dworsky is hopeful there is room for compromise.
“I suspect something maybe more palatable to manufacturers would belike we see in Brazil,” he says. “They have to put on the package, information when the product has gotten smaller maybe that will wind up being a compromise.”
As the legislation moves through Congress, Dworsky said consumers should keep their eyes open for shrinking products. Read the fine print at the grocery stores starting with the net weight measurements of a product and the unit pricing on store shelves.
Keep in mind that because companies often only make subtle changes to the labeling on their packaging, avoiding shrinkflation can be difficult unless you have a previous version of the product to check against.
“Since manufacturers tend to keep making their products smaller and smaller, we have to take responsibility and become more aware when it’s happening,” Dworsky said.
We reached out to the companies that make Doritos and Oreos and didn’t hear back.
Pepsi Co, the parent company of Frito Lay told CNBC in 2022 that it in anticipation of continued cost increases, it planned to keep shrinking product sizes and deploying other ways to manage rising expenses.
Mondelez, which makes Oreos, told the Wall Street Journal last year that it has used a variety of strategies in recent years to combat higher costs for ingredients, including shrinking package sizes.
Some tips to stretch your budget at the grocery store-- stick with store or generic brands. They typically offer more or less the same product for a much cheaper price. Generics are also less likely to be downsized.
And when you buy in bulk, you often pay less money per unit.
And don’t forget to shop the sales!
