If you have noticed that the fruit pouches, frozen chicken bites or chocolate biscuits you usually buy from the grocery have shrunk in size over the years but their prices remain the same, you’re not alone.
A newly released study by Community Researchers on what’s so-called “shrinkflation” in Ontario has found that several products exhibited a reduction in their packaging volume, with higher-sugar or fatty food items experiencing the biggest change among the 20 food categories examined.
They are followed by baby or toddler food, frozen poultry, processed meats, and unsaturated fats and oils.
“We really wanted to study this because, in terms of Canada, especially Ontario, it’s pretty easy to find differences in price items, especially using mobile apps. But for shrink inflation itself, it’s quite difficult to pinpoint and to see exactly which products do have shrink inflation,” lead researcher Rachel Lee said in an interview with CP24 on Thursday.
“I personally believe hopefully regulating …