[shel]

Today, in response to a suggestion in another thread, I purchased a box of Barilla PLUS pasta. The regular price was $2.69 at the local Safeway, the only place around besides another similar chain that carries the stuff.

I observed that the pasta weighed less than a pound - 14.25-oz. Ronzoni's Healthy Harvest weighed in at 13.25-oz, and Dreamfields tipped the digital scales at 13.25-oz as well. All of these pastas retail for about $2.50 per box. With the downsizing of the pasta and the outrageous price per box, that works out to more than $3.00-lb for pasta.

I wonder if it's only specialty pastas that have been downsized and have had the price jacked up. Anyone have experience with the peice and size of other pastas, especially a specialized or whole wheat pasta?

In another thread elsewhere http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?...=downsize&st=0 I read people complaining about downsized mayonnaise, ice cream, and other products sold with increased prices. Many times these smaller sizes aren't noticed as the packages look the same.

Have you noticed this?

shel

[OregonYeti]

I read an article in the newspaper here that selling less of a product in a container that looks the same, is a trend and that a lot of companies are doing that.

If you look around, you might be able to get Barilla pasta for a much better price. I buy it often (to me, it's a great option if you aren't buying or making fresh pasta) and I find it at about half that price sometimes. Pasta is a passion of mine.

[shel]

Originally Posted by OregonYeti

I read an article in the newspaper here that selling less of a product in a container that looks the same, is a trend a lot of companies are doing.

If you look around, you might be able to get Barilla pasta for a much better price. I buy it often (to me, it's a great option if you aren't buying or making fresh pasta) and I find it at about half that price sometimes. Pasta is a passion of mine.

I actually got the Barilla for less, but I mentioned the standard price. In any case, I wanted to make a quick purchase just to try it. If I like it, I'll wait for a sale and buy a few boxes. Regular Barilla is substantially less expensive, at least it was the last time I bought it.

scb

[OregonYeti]

Ohhh, I see. I haven't come across Barilla Plus yet. Never mind what I said. I buy Barilla's regular pasta and I think it's really good.

[ED BUCHANAN]

Originally Posted by shel

I actually got the Barilla for less, but I mentioned the standard price. In any case, I wanted to make a quick purchase just to try it. If I like it, I'll wait for a sale and buy a few boxes. Regular Barilla is substantially less expensive, at least it was the last time I bought it.

scb

Shel,
Make sure you read this monthes consumers report re. downsizing of everything and various manufacturers excuses.

[shel]

Originally Posted by ED BUCHANAN

Shel,
Make sure you read this monthes consumers report re. downsizing of everything and various manufacturers excuses.

If I can get hold of a copy I will. This morning I saw the ultimat rip-off: 12-oz pkgs of pasta, made by one of our regional, commercial, nothing special, pasta manufacturers - $2.00 per pkg. For that kind of money I'll buy 500g of high-quality imported and artisan pasta.

One of the problems associated with this downsizing is that some recipes won't work as expected unless one carefully reads the package labels and makes the necessary adjustments. I'd bet that most people just grab a box of pasta off the shelf and don't pay any attention to the amount of the contents since the current and previous packages are the same size, or close enough that the difference isn't easily noticed.

scb

[Free Rider]

Commodities prices. You're seeing the price of oil affecting everything, including pasta. That with the high wheat prices and manufacturers will have to do something.

Btw, oil is not just for delivery, but in the packaging, plastic crates used to transport stuff and all aspects of food manufacture. When the price of oil shot up, plastic packaging became very expensive, so many went to cardboard. Enough of them did that, increasing demand, and that forced the price of cardboard up too.

[shel]

Originally Posted by Free Rider

Commodities prices. You're seeing the price of oil affecting everything, including pasta. That with the high wheat prices and manufacturers will have to do something.

I've seen this downsizing in other products long before the recent oil price increase. For example, cat food went from 7-oz to 5.5-oz slowly working its way down for a few years now. Same size can. Tuna fish has been doing the same thing. Years ago Bryer's ice cream went from a one gallon tub to 1.5-quarts while remaining at the same price. Other ice cream brands soon followed ... Check out the weight of a "pound" of commercial coffee. Many items have been reduced and packaged to look like it's the same size.

shel

[OregonYeti]

Originally Posted by oldschool1982

The down sizing of the amount packaged fits into the reduced calorie or more health aspect of the product. It seems to me that most pastas packaged in 1lb boxes, bags or whatever are 8 servings at 2oz (uncooked) each. If I remember correctly on the box of Healthy Harvest we bought to try, it was 1-1/4 oz per serving cooked. We don't have the box anymore since I cooked the entire package for the three of us for dinner a couple weeks ago. Basically it's not to rip anyone off because of a reduced package size yet the whole idea that companies have to inflate the cost of "more healthy" products is the real rip off.

I believe in "honest packaging". I don't think that a company selling less for the same price in the same-looking package is anything but misleading.

I prefer to make my own choices in my recipes. You were joking, right?

[shel]

My box of Healthy Harvest, which contains 13.25 oz of spaghetti, reads:

Serving size 2 oz. (56g / 1/7 pkg)
Servings per container about 7

It's also interesting to note that they've rounded up the number of servings, which is actually 6.625 when you do the math.

I agree with OY.

shel