(TNS) — Sen. Bob Casey is fighting supermarket shrinkflation.
The Pennsylvania Democrat introduced a bill Wednesday that opposes the practice of shrinking everyday consumer goods such as cereal, potato chips, laundry detergent and toilet paper.
The Shrinkflation Prevention Act targets corporations Casey, who is a co-sponsor of the bill, said are deceiving shoppers by selling smaller sizes without lowering prices. Under the act, the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys generals would have authority to crack down on companies that practice shrinkflation.
“Corporations are trying to pull the wool over our eyes by shrinking their products without reducing their prices—anyone on a tight budget sees it every time they go to the grocery store,” Casey said in a press release. “Pennsylvania families are sick and tired of digging deeper into their wallets for their weekly grocery runs while corporate CEOs laugh all the way to the bank. I’m fighting to crack down on shrinkflation and hold corporations accountable for these deceptive practices.”
Last year, Casey started releasing a series of “greedflation” reports on the topic, including one before Thanksgiving called “Stuffing Their Pockets: How Big Food and Agriculture Businesses Are Making Your Holiday Meals More Expensive.”
Casey noted companies that process food are increasing prices for staples and questioned why the hikes were necessary during the holidays. He also sent letters to the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Agriculture requesting the agencies investigate “possible unfair pricing practices of major chicken and pork processors in the United States.”
His final report was released in January and targeted junk and hidden fees.
Food prices are a hot topic among voters leading up to November’s presidential election. President Joe Biden released a video on Super Bowl Sunday warning snack companies to stop the practice.
“I’ve had enough of what they call shrinkflation. It’s a rip-off,” Biden said.
The video highlighted several well-known products including Turkey Hill Ice Cream, Oreos, Doritos, Wheat Thins and Gatorade.
The practice of companies shrinking packaging is nothing new, and one manufacturers turn to in times of high inflation. It became widespread around 2022 when food prices started rising.
Business Insider shared a list of 27 extreme examples of shrinkflation including Dorito bags dropping from 9.75 ounces to 9.25 ounces, Gatorade decreasing from 32 ounces to 28 ounces and Hershey cutting 18-ounce packages of dark chocolate Kisses by 2 ounces.
At the time, NPR noted several examples, ranging from fewer tissues in Kleenex boxes to reduced-sized Chobani Flips yogurt cups from 5.3 ounces to 4.5 ounces.
Edgar Dworsky, a consumer advocate and former assistant attorney general in Massachusetts, who has documented shrinkflation on his Consumer World website for decades, told NPR the practice is appealing to manufacturers because they know shoppers will notice price hikes, but don’t pay as much attention to weights or sizes.
“It comes in waves. We happen to be in a tidal wave at the moment because of inflation,” he said.
