product packaging changes and recipes!!
 

Have you noticed a 5 pound bag of sugar is now 4 pounds? And a pound of cranberries is not in a bag - it's only 12 ounces!! And a recipe I have use for years, has flopped twice this year for me. It's a real moist brownie and then you pour a mix of cream cheese, egg, sugar and vanilla on top and cut it into the chocolate. It's like a cheesecake with a brownie. But both times the cheese/egg/sugar just did not 'cream" well. I thought maybe at first the cheese was too cold so the next batch I got the cheese out real early to come to room temperature. Must be the way cream cheese is being made. I have a friend that makes delicious peanut brittle. She threw away 3 batches because it wasn't right. She thinks it was the Karo syrup. If products are being changed, it should be mentioned on the package! How many people really go to a website before using an item to see if there are changes?

I've learned to put weights and/or measures on my favorite recipes now!

I have an old recipe that calls for "a 5 cent Hershey bar" - - - -

Now I would say "approximately four ounces of a milk chocolate Hershey bar"

The weights and volume are changing on just about everything.

It has been a LONG time since you got a pound of coffee in a can. I have seen it as low as 10.5 ounces.

Some cream cheese you get is not real cream cheese but cream cheese spread. Something added to make it more spreadable.

I found this out at Thanksgiving. The clerk at Safeway assured me it was "real cream cheese". Well, IT'S NOT! :mad:

The recipe didn't come out.

Next time I need cream cheese for a recipe, I'll buy the real thing at Costco.

:)

Nuts that were 16 ounces are now 7 at the same price, and shredded cheese is about 25% less in the package! They are not"raising prices" they just give us less! Drives me crazy when using for a recipe.

It's even more annoying when they change the package size and raise the price. Green Giant Peas were $2.29 for 1 Kg (a little more than 2 lbs) for ages. All of a sudden the package was 750 gms (3/4 of the size) and the price was raised to $3. 69. That's one huge increase. There's a lot of concern with fruit and vegetable growers in Canada right now as the government is trying to do away with standard containers. Packages could be any weight or size making it almost impossible for consumers to compare prices if this is changed. We are potato growers and it has been suggested that we run a test trial of 8 lb bags instead of the more common 10 lb size. We don't have the bags and the machinery and scales are not set up to do this. We can't see the advantage and it will cost everyone more to do this.

This has been going on for a while - I realized as an adult how true this saying is "The only constant is CHANGE." just gotta keep rockin' and thinkin' clearly, my friends.

I have known for sometime about the sugar, coffee, etc. We use a lot of paper plates in this house so I buy the large package of Dixie. Use to be 100 plates, when I went about 2 months ago there was a big 95 on the front of the package like it was giving you more or something. Well the price sure didn't go down. I use a calculator when I go shopping and figure out per piece,ounce etc how much each thing is. Its saved me money in some cases because I would have automaticlly bought the larger size thinking it was cheaper and it wasn't

YEs, we noticed those changes this past year. My mother noticed it several years ago when her cinnamon rolls did not get "gooey" on the bottom anymore. Sad.

I have a 5 cent Hershey bar pie recipe that uses 5 bars, it is never the same twice. I can understand why they do it so that the price does not go up but it sure drives me nuts readjusting the the new sizes. I like the idea of calculating the price per whatever and I guess I will have to do more of that. I do use that on Kuerig k-cups to see what is the best price but not on most products. I never noticed the paper plates will have to pay more attention.

they are also changing the ingredients in the chocolate bars and baking chocolate to have less fat read carefully. Weights and measures use to be honored, no more.

I have a soda "to go cup" that I take with me in the car and I always put a clean, new straw in it - so go through a lot of straws - recently bought a new box of Glad straws and when I put it in the cabinet with the old box = noticed that it was shorter - so short that it doesn't even stick up outside of my cup - so had to measure them and take a tape measure to the store and try to find a long enough straw - finally found one at Kroger.

It was on tv that instead of raising prices companies were making products smaller. This is due to draught etc.

What a great idea! The companies must surely know that they are ruining recipes when they change the amounts. What poor customer relations. One recipe recently called for a 17oz. cake mix that is now 15 1/2oz.

For several years Andy Rooney did a segment on "60 Minutes" called something like "the incredible shrinking package". This is nothing new, it's just becoming more and more common with new products shrinking all the time.

Anybody use Northern toilet tissue--the regular kind? It has gotten thinner and the core roll is thicker. Aggravating to say the least.

This practice long predates the draught, it's the greedy companies thinking we "stupid" consumers never noticed when they slipped an once or 2 silently out of the coffee can, detergent box, cake mix box, etc. I wish there was some way to let them know we have noticed and are not happy about it! I think they started with the coffee and cranberries at least 10 yrs ago, maybe more.

haa What kills me is when they raise the price and make the package 3 ounces smaller,
then after awhile they come out with the original size and say 3 ounces more Free!

I like to purchase the Farmland link sausages like Polska Kielbasa and smoked sausages.These work so well in casseroles ,ect...Was at Wally World and noticed the price a few years back; $2.50. That used to be the price I would look for if I needed to stock a few for the freezer.Grabed a couple packages and noticed the ounces weren't 16 like before. Asked the meat man, his comment was the customer didn't want to pay the price, with the new packaging so they decided to drop the price.$2.50 for 12-14 ounces.I asked if he thought the customer wouldn't notice the smaller package ? I remember that he had no answer. I think that Eckland might still have a 16 ounce package.Kraft Miracle Whip has also taken on the smaller container; 30 ounces, instead of 32. The price has sky rocketed, almost $5. 00 in some stores.I do think it's about time to try out some of those copycat recipes;and older cookbooks where you don't start out using some prepackaged box.Make your own mixes need to be used again.

The width is shorter also. It used to cover the roller, now it flops around on the roller.

'One recipe recently called for a 17oz. cake mix that is now 15 1/2oz. '

I was just thinking about the change in mix ounces yesterday when I was writing out a recipe for Jiffly Corn Mix Cornbread. Orginal recipe called for 8 oz. package of Jiffy and I made a mental note to check out the actual package size when I go to supermarket this week.

I use a package of cake mix plus eggs and other ingredients to make a 'pound' cake. Lately it hasn't been as tasty as it used to be, kind of dry and gets a crispy crust. Guess that's because the cake mix is much less now than when the orginal recipe was created.

So who has contacted the manufactures to complain? It won't stop if we don't say something. I have started emailing nice letters of concern about things that don't seem right.

Especially at this time of year when baking is high...the semi sweet chocolate chips (any brand) is down from 16 oz. to 12 oz....makes cookies look less full of chips...when the recipes call for 2 cups not a 1 and 1/2 and the price as gone up....we are not stupid...was looking for butternut bread and asked the store clerk who was stocking the shelves about it he simply stated on we are out of it....; then i asked, with many others around are you out of it or is it part of the Hostess products that will not be seen back in your store. He said i am not sure. Went to the source...it's part of Hostess, why lie to customers...honesty in my book still is the best policy. We need to complain to manufacturers they are the ones changing package sizing....are they that removed from their customer that they believe the majority of food shoppers (women) are stupid....we are not.

There's really a lot of very bad things happening with our food supply and it's far worse than lowering weights and jacking prices. Almost ALL the sugar and soy in this country (US) are genetically modified which have been proven to cause organ failure.Even 3rd world countries are banning GMO's but not US...follow the money. The best thing to do is not buy packaged or prepared food and try to make everything from scratch and whatever you do, please research margarine...it's an ungodly mix of chemicals. Go for the butter and do your best to buy local if possible.

When I was in high school 69-72, we used to make fudge. It was wonderful. Made it every year at Christmas, then one year about 6 years ago it failed, tried making it again, thinking I did something wrong, and it failed again. It was horrid and grainy. Spoke to other family members and they had the same thing happen. I was ready to pitch the recipe and my husband started reading weights and started playing with the recipe wrote it out and it has been fine since. But I also think there have been some ingredients had changes in them more than weight.

I remember buying and eating many 5 cent Hershey bars! That must be a very old recipe. Tasty too I bet.

Well it looks like we will have to start buying local more and pre packaged less. I haven't used margrine in years after I read how many chemicals it has in it. I don't buy chocolate as often anymore, what I try to buy is organic and free trade etc so much more expensive and haven't bought Hershey bars in a couple of years. It became too sweet also waxy feeling to the mouth. I haven't made cookies in a number of years so will make sure I check the packages if I do this year. I remember someone once told me , Something is only worth as much as someone will pay for it. So If I can do without something I don't give them my money. I would do more bread baking canning etc if my health weren't so lousy . I hate having to buy premade things.

Isn't it annoying that the procuct companies think we don't notice?????

Totally agree!!

my husband likes canned milk, evaporated. in coffee mainly. well it's changed. my small kitty who always used to meow for a bit of milk, turns her nose up at it now. me too, ick.