12 November 2008

Peanut butter jars deceptively smaller


The external dimensions of the jar appear to be the same, but that "dimple" in the bottom reduces the capacity of the jar from 18 ounces to 16.3 ounces - about a 10% reduction.

This kind of ploy has been used for years, for a wide variety of products, but now there's a virtual epidemic of this practice:
Unilever also changed the shape of its Breyers ice cream containers, reducing the contents to 1.5 quarts from 1.75 quarts. Competitor Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream did the same, shortening its carton...

In June, Kellogg Co. reduced the weight of many popular cereals -- including Cocoa Krispies, Corn Pops, Apple Jacks, Froot Loops and Honey Smacks... The reduction wouldn't be obvious to shoppers walking down the cereal row. From the front, the size of the box remains the same; only the depth was reduced...
As I was looking at the Christmas card catalogue from the National Wildlife Fund, I note that the boxes that used to have 25 cards some years ago, and had 20 cards two years ago now have 18 cards. I suppose I can't really "rant" about these changes as long as the product is properly labeled. Maybe I could write a shorter rant...

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