Bruce sends in what he thinks is another victim of the Grocery Shrink Ray’s fell and indiscriminate wrath:
supermarkets
Entire Chicken Fits Into 50 oz Can
By 7.7.08
Science has taken us to Mars, plumbed the twilight depths of the ocean, and manipulated the very fibers of existence on the subatomic level, and now, minus giblets, put an entire chicken into a can. Commenter AlexTNOA alerts us that you can get it on Amazon, too, where the writeup says it’s, “…ready for soups, stews and quick dinners…Great to have on-hand in your pantry for emergency dinners.” Hm, how might those instructions read…something like: Open can, plop contents on plate, cover with plastic wrap, cook in microwave on high for 60 seconds, remove plate and wrapper, sculpt contents into shape of chicken. Serves 3-5…
This Partially Filled Half-Gallon Of Milk Is Reasonably Priced
By 7.6.08
Pretend you’re a manager at Ralph’s and you notice two-inches of milk missing from one of your half-gallon milk containers. What do you do?
15 Easy Ways To Save Money At The Supermarket
By 7.5.08
Saving money at the supermarket has never been more important or difficult thanks to the tag team threat of inflation and the Grocery Shrink Ray. Get Rich Slowly published 15 money-saving tips to help you hold onto your hard-earned cash.
More Beef Recalled For E. Coli
By 7.3.08
After Nebraska Beef, Ltd., recalled 531,707 pounds of beef for a possible E.coli contamination, Kroger is recalling beef from its stores and from stores selling beef under its label. The recall includes nearly all kinds and weights of ground beef with Kroger labels sold between 5/21 and 6/08. The sell-by date on them will fall between 5/21 and 6/05. Not included are ground beef in sealed tubes in 1,3, or 5lb sizes, or Frozen Beef Patties or Ground Beef Patties found in the frozen food aisle. Other caveats apply and there may be more updates, check the Kroger Recall page for the latest information. E.coli can cause food poisoning or even death. If you have any of this meat, you can either throw it away or return it to Kroger for a full refund.
Ben Popken Talkin' 'Bout Grocery Shrink Ray In Various Media Outlets
By 7.2.08
Media interest in The Grocery Shrink Ray sweeping across America continues, I was interviewed recently by CNNMoney.com, The Brian Lehrer Show, and Agence France-Press. Everyone knows prices are higher and manufacturers need to pass them on somehow. I don’t like the method of shrinking sizes while keeping the prices the same. Or when they combine it with a package redesign, hoping we’ll be so distracted by a new spigot that we won’t notice we’re getting less. My local pizza parlor went about it differently. They raised prices and taped up two articles explaining how rising wheat costs are driving up the cost of making pizza. They didn’t, however, cut their pies into 12 slices instead of 8.
Grocery Shrink Ray Hits Arizona Ice Tea?
By 7.1.08
It looks like the fell Grocery Shrink Ray may have hit cans of Arizona Ice Tea, reducing the size of their 12 oz cans to 11.5 oz cans. We couldn’t find any definite pictures of 12oz Arizona Ice Tea cans, but we did find them being sold on this website in 12 oz cans. What happens to a product when the shrink ray hits it? I imagine it goes eek! eek! eek! and the last eek is an octave higher than the first.
Massachusetts Supermarkets Want To Remove Price Tags From Items
By 6.25.08
A bill is advancing through the Massachusetts legislature that will allow supermarkets to leave off item price tags and instead force customers to rely on electronic scanners spaced throughout the store. Although prices will still need to be displayed on store shelves for most items, you’ll have to rely on your memory and your faith in the store’s scanner system at checkout. John Hurst, the president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, “said consumers will benefit in the form of lower prices and shortened lines once stores no longer need to devote resources to item-by-item pricing.” But kjd aa- [thump]
By 6.19.08
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Consumerist Editor Ben Popken (hey, that’s me!) talks about the grocery shrink ray today at 5:30 PM Eastern on WTVT-TV FOX 13 in Florida.
Is It Legal To Sell Expired Food?
By 6.18.08
Is it ok for stores to sell food that’s expired? It depends. It is illegal for stores to sell food past its “Use By” date. However, stores are allowed to sell food after it has passed the “Best Until” “Best Before” “Sell By” or “Display Until” dates stamped on the sides of packages. As the name suggests, it just might not be its best, in terms of flavor, consistency, or texture. Still, why get the old stuff when you can get the fresh for the same price? Always check the expiration dates on food packages to make sure you’re getting the best value for your dollar.
Grocery Shrink Ray Hits Garden Salsa Sun Chips
By 6.17.08
These Sun Chips have shrunk from 11.5 oz to 10.5 oz and are still being sold at the same price. “Not even healthy foods that normally are already sold in smaller portions are safe,” says tipster MasonTwo who spotted these on the shelves at Walmart. CNN says the products most vulnerable to the Grocery Shrink Ray are paper towels, potato chips, sticks of gum, toilet paper, detergent and candy bars. Hey, look at the bright side, maybe the Grocery Shrink Ray is just what we need to fight the obesity crisis.
By 6.17.08
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Attention Floridian Consumerists! Provided everything goes according to schedule, I will be on Fox Tampa Thursday during the 10pm newscast, talking about the mysterious Grocery Shrink Ray sweeping across America.
Winco Frozen Fish: The Big U.S. Flag Tells You It's Made In China!
By 6.15.08
A reader in Redding, California was shopping at the local Winco and saw this ultra-patriotic bag of frozen tilapia—if it were any prouder to be an American it would have to start singing country music. But when glugory turned the bag over, the phrase “Product of China” was stamped across the bottom. “So now these bastards are lulling you into a false sense of patriotism in order to sell their commie fish,” writes glugory. That might be overstating it a bit, but we’re fans of overstating things here at Consumerist, so… yeah! Damned commie fish! Remember: never trust packaging. It’s just marketing you can hold.
New York City: 86% Of Milk Sellers Are Price-Gouging Customers
By 6.7.08
Sorry New Yorkers, but according to the City Council, you’re overpaying for both rent and milk. Anyone charging more than $3.93 for a gallon—86% of the city’s milk sellers, from bodegas to Whole Foods—is violating the state’s milk price-gouging law.
Save Money By Being Your Own Butcher
By 6.5.08
CheapStingyBargains says that rather than relying on a butcher, it can be cheaper just to buy a whole piece of meat and cut it up yourself:
Unlocking The Secret Of Kroger's Mysterious Trap-Door
By 6.3.08
Reader Colin was watching his groceries travel along the conveyor belt at the Kroger checkout counter when he noticed some of his fruit snacks suddenly vanish from the line of items. With his interest piqued, Colin looked carefully and discovered a strange hinged door at the end of the belt. Upon making the discovery, the cashier slowly raised the steel flap and discovered Colin’s lost fruit snacks along with a bounty of hapless groceries that had that had been arbitrarily swallowed by this clandestine trap. Because the items had already been scanned and purchased, the cashier offered them to Colin as a prize for unlocking the secret of the mysterious trap-door. Colin’s letter, inside…
Sam's Click 'n' Pull Is Lame 'n' Broken
By 5.29.08
Will in Georgia thought he’d try to take advantage of the Click ‘n’ Pull program offered by Sam’s Club—you make your shopping list ahead of time (the “click” part) and the store pulls it all for you and calls you when it’s ready to pick up. Based on Will’s experiences so far, the program isn’t quite ready for Georgians.
