Shrinking grocery items

[garyi]

To be fair cheap beans are fine stick them in a pan and cook a bit of the juice off and you have heinz.

 

[canonman]

That’s the standard price of a four pack. Single can price is insane!

Far superior Baxters soups only £1 per can in Sainsburys last week.

 

[RobFTM]

Eggs shortage is bird flu, I think.

I’ve not read the whole thread so someone may have corrected this but it’s not bird flu but energy costs in recent months. Someone on here posted about their personal experience of the problem. I’ll see if I can find the thread if someone hasn’t already done so.
If someone has then sorry for the double post!

 

[stevec67]

I’ve not read the whole thread so someone may have corrected this but it’s not bird flu but energy costs in recent months. Someone on here posted about their personal experience of the problem. I’ll see if I can find the thread if someone hasn’t already done so.
If someone has then sorry for the double post!

Bird flu is certainly a major contributor. Flocks have been culled. However you are right that it's not the only story.

 

[Ponty]

Blimey! Even my favourite (and only bought as a treat!) M&S pea and mint soup is only £1.25.

M&S is the best supermarket at the moment IMHO. Many basics are often the same price or even cheaper than Aldi. The more expensive stuff is very good value for the quality IME.

 

[PaulMB]

Shrinkflation. Just so much of it in failing Tory Brexitland. For a while it was to keep familiar prices, but now that slight of hand has gone and we are paying x% more for very obviously less actual product. That is when there is even product to buy. As an example it is getting far harder to buy eggs of late for some reason and the local Asda had a ‘maximum x2’ sign up on an already empty shelf when I was in last. I guess this is just what a collapsing economy feels like.

PS Someone will be along to tell us it’s “sovereignty” any minute now.

If it's any consolation, Tony, same thing is happening in Italy and, probably, everywhere else. Remember when Toblerone increased the empty space between each "tooth"? Shook the Swiss government to its foundations. It is all part of the trend to reduce consumers to obedient and brainless "consumer-slaves" who accept any innovation like sheep. Too stupid to realise the price is the same but the quantity less. That's why I get so angry at new cars that are built so the owner is forced to use the official, and often incompetent, service centre, at watch makers that now refuse to sell spare parts to independent repairers, to restaurants that have abolished menus. The principle that "times change" and that "change" is by definition good is a load of tosh. Good change is good, bad change is bad and should be resisted. Sorry, drifted a bit off topic.

 

[Bob McC]

Now that bird flu has jumped the species barrier and has been found in otters and foxes they’ll be off the menu soon as well.

 

[Seeker_UK]

Now that bird flu has jumped the species barrier and has been found in otters and foxes they’ll be off the menu soon as well.

I've never really been one for otter, nor swan for that matter. I only eat them as a last resort.

 

[stevec67]

I've never really been one for otter, nor swan for that matter. I only eat them as a last resort.

I don't know. I quite like Tarka Dal in my local Indian restaurant. It's tasty. Just like normal dal but otter.

 

[paulfromcamden]

I've never really been one for otter, nor swan for that matter. I only eat them as a last resort.

None of those rich imperialist tit-bits...

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

Now that bird flu has jumped the species barrier and has been found in otters and foxes they’ll be off the menu soon as well.

I'm waiting for the day I turn up at a restaurant to have the front of house staff tell me: 'Fox off'.

 

[Seeker_UK]

None of those rich imperialist tit-bits...

Dromedary pretzels. Only half a dinar...

 

[gintonic]

Only half a dinar.

which one?

 

[Seeker_UK]

which one?

The obverse half.

 

[Jim Audiomisc]

M&S is the best supermarket at the moment IMHO. Many basics are often the same price or even cheaper than Aldi. The more expensive stuff is very good value for the quality IME.

However M & S seem to also be playing a game as well. I noticed recently that one particular 'box of chocs' on offer looks the same in terms of size and appearance of the box on the shelf. But the 'selection' of the chocs inside has changed. Lost some of the more 'fancy' chocs and replaced them with things like soft caramels. i.e. cheaper chocs, but the same overall size, appearance, etc, of what's on the shelf.

Main change is that things in our local M & S now often 'vanish' and can't be bought, but may reappear - for a time - some weeks later. Given that we have a limited diet and have to get our shopping via a volunteer that can cause problems at times.

How much is 'Brexit' and how much it is down to a Tory crash of the economy more generally, dunno. Either way, their responsibility for it is large.

 

[Cheese]

Main change is that things in our local M & S now often 'vanish' and can't be bought, but may reappear - for a time - some weeks later.

No change here - they have learned this from Aldi and Lidl, which have been practicing it for years and still do. More variety for the customer than at regular hard discounters, and at the same time fewer quantities for Aldi to manage in stock. Oh and it keeps the customer curious for new things to appear.

Neither Brexit nor Tory I'm afraid.

These are a good example at Aldi Panetteria, puff pastry with grated cheese on it. They are viciously good, with red wine they are an explosion of savour in your mouth. The sound of their crunch resonates in every inch of your skull. Currently Aldi has been sadistically making me wait for several months now - God knows how much other junk I bought at Aldi over the years when I was on my way to the bread shelf I regularly visit to see my pastry come back

 

[KrisW]

If it's any consolation, Tony, same thing is happening in Italy and, probably, everywhere else. Remember when Toblerone increased the empty space between each "tooth"? Shook the Swiss government to its foundations. It is all part of the trend to reduce consumers to obedient and brainless "consumer-slaves" who accept any innovation like sheep. Too stupid to realise the price is the same but the quantity less. That's why I get so angry at new cars that are built so the owner is forced to use the official, and often incompetent, service centre, at watch makers that now refuse to sell spare parts to independent repairers, to restaurants that have abolished menus. The principle that "times change" and that "change" is by definition good is a load of tosh. Good change is good, bad change is bad and should be resisted. Sorry, drifted a bit off topic.

The Toblerone case is down to public health measures agreed across the EEA countries to try to fight childhood obesity - serving sizes of all high-calorie snack foods were systematically reduced; in some cases, the manufacturers did reduce pricing too, but inflation has swallowed that. To head off the inevitable Brexitry: this was, incidentally, a measure championed by the UK, and one which the post-Brexit UK has doubled-down on.

The situation with new cars is exactly the opposite of what you’re saying, and it sounds like someone is spinning you a line. Under EU competition law, car manufacturers must honour their warranty even if you never have the vehicle serviced within their network. Further, they have to make their diagnostics systems available to non-tied garages (Snap-On kind of fixes this anyway, by reverse-engineering the manufacturer-specific tools at lower cost), and they must sell any part that’s on the dealership inventory at the same price to any competent mechanic. What they are under no obligation to do is to sell to DIYers, as the manufacturers’ warranty is contingent on the repairs being made by a qualified and competent mechanic.

Restaurants are still obliged by law in Italy (as in many other countries) to display a menu, with prices, in a place that is “outside” the restaurant itself, and local government can insist on stricter measures (full disclosure of service charges, distribution of gratuities, or the use of fresh versus pre-prepared ingredients, etc.). The use of scannable QR-codes in place of printed menus outside restaurants is a grey area - personally I would agree with you that it’s an evasion of the rules, especially as maintaining the menu online would allow for dynamic pricing that is very much against the spirit of “no nasty surprises” that led to menu laws in the first place. But just because some merchants are ignoring the law, it does not follow that the law no longer exists - if nobody reports such outlets to the authorities, they will assume it’s legal and keep doing what they’re doing.

 

[webster]

We make our own soup from homegrown veggies - no reduction in quality or quantity.

 

[gintonic]

mate down the pub was telling me condoms were getting smaller - perhaps they were exaggerating

 

[PaulMB]

The Toblerone case is down to public health measures agreed across the EEA countries to try to fight childhood obesity - serving sizes of all high-calorie snack foods were systematically reduced; in some cases, the manufacturers did reduce pricing too, but inflation has swallowed that. To head off the inevitable Brexitry: this was, incidentally, a measure championed by the UK, and one which the post-Brexit UK has doubled-down on.

The situation with new cars is exactly the opposite of what you’re saying, and it sounds like someone is spinning you a line. Under EU competition law, car manufacturers must honour their warranty even if you never have the vehicle serviced within their network. Further, they have to make their diagnostics systems available to non-tied garages (Snap-On kind of fixes this anyway, by reverse-engineering the manufacturer-specific tools at lower cost), and they must sell any part that’s on the dealership inventory at the same price to any competent mechanic. What they are under no obligation to do is to sell to DIYers, as the manufacturers’ warranty is contingent on the repairs being made by a qualified and competent mechanic.

Restaurants are still obliged by law in Italy (as in many other countries) to display a menu, with prices, in a place that is “outside” the restaurant itself, and local government can insist on stricter measures (full disclosure of service charges, distribution of gratuities, or the use of fresh versus pre-prepared ingredients, etc.). The use of scannable QR-codes in place of printed menus outside restaurants is a grey area - personally I would agree with you that it’s an evasion of the rules, especially as maintaining the menu online would allow for dynamic pricing that is very much against the spirit of “no nasty surprises” that led to menu laws in the first place. But just because some merchants are ignoring the law, it does not follow that the law no longer exists - if nobody reports such outlets to the authorities, they will assume it’s legal and keep doing what they’re doing.

I had no idea about the Toblerone (and all the other) cases.

Regarding new cars, I still have some doubts. What about the codes needed to replace anything connected to the car's computer system? Which is practically everything, these days. And watch repairers, I'm sure, having spoken to watch repairers, can't buy spare parts for certain makes of watch. So they have to rely on a "grey" market of spares that are not always of comparable quality, or try to fudge things as best they can.

Here in Rome I've noticed that some restaurants, but by no means all, display a menu in their window or somewhere outside. And some now only have QR codes for reading the menu once you are sitting at the table. I quoted this not as a way to increase prices, but as an example of the provider of a service making a unilateral decision that the customer is expected to meekly go along with.