Consumerist reader Bryan says he tends to buy a new box of Pop Secret microwave popcorn every month or so. But while he was putting away his groceries the other day he noticed that the new box seemed a bit thinner than he’d become accustomed to.

“Fearing I had mistakenly bought the 1.5-oz variety, which my microwave ALWAYS burns, I checked the weight and found that the usual 3.5-oz package is apparently no more,” writes Bryan.

The new packets of popcorn weighed 3.2 ounces, about 9% less than before.

“Even funnier,” points out Bryan, “the package touts 10% more — Granted, this is in comparison to a competitor, and not their own product, but this is deceptive at a quick glance.

“My microwave has presets for 3.5, 3.0, and 1.75-oz bags of popcorn. What’s a movie fanatic to do? Is it merely a money-saving tactic on the part of Pop Secret, or a vast-left-right-communist-centrist-progressive-conservative plot to force me into buying a new microwave?”

Completely non-existent sources report that it may actually be the work of The Pentavirate, who run everything in the world, including the newspapers, and meet tri-annually at a secret country mansion in Colorado, known as The Meadows.

Or Pop Secret is just trying to save some cash.

Has anyone else noticed their standard 3.5-ounce popcorn going poof?

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