this post was submitted on 15 Aug 2023
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Downgrading the Ingredients in our Food Items: 'Skimpflation' Hits Grocery Stores in Canada [Op-Ed] (retail-insider.com)
submitted 1 year ago by sik0fewl@kbin.social to c/canada@lemmy.ca
55 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Sylvain Charlebois discusses the subtle alteration in the nutritional composition of some products as manufacturing costs soar in the industry.

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[–] ApathyTree@lemmy.dbzer0.com 67 points 1 year ago (9 children)

Why does it always have to be the consumer’s job to watch out for this crap? It’s exhausting going through everything looking for allergens, imagine doing so just to make sure the product you’ve been buying for years hasn’t changed to lower quality without warning.

Better solution - require that products have a front label stating their recipe has changed, and including a list of changes to it on the back. Quicker reference, easy as hell to tell when something changed.

Consumer protection really needs to be more robust. We shouldn’t let these companies have all the power to mess with our bodies on a whim without warning.

[–] Peanutbjelly@sopuli.xyz 13 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Especially when they have the money and ability to perfectly read the limits of public attention, or necessary severity of distress before drastic reaction. The general public are too focused on surviving and living to compete with companies who focus entire groups and technologies into finding people's blind spots and weaknesses.

It's a battle of minds and margins, where only one side has resources and power to affect change. Where the fuck are our representatives?

[–] ApathyTree@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Yeah, that’s why we have government regulations in the first place. Because we don’t have the same level of resources or power to do anything about it that companies do.

We just need way better regulations. And really strong enforcement. Oh and fines that actually matter, like 10% of yearly profits for each infraction, no upper limit. If they can’t be pro-social, fine them into bankruptcy.

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[–] smoof@artemis.camp 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

You know they will find a loophole like creating a new product and discontinuing the old one.

[–] ApathyTree@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 1 year ago

That’s fine, because it’s not sneaky changes to an existing product you’ve already vetted. It’s very obvious that it changed if it’s a whole new product.

[–] joshhsoj1902@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 year ago

That still works for me. It's usually allergens I'm looking for so if the product changes I know I have to confirm the new product it's not going to try to kill me like I do with any new product.

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[–] MisterD@lemmy.ca 21 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Restaurants too. you need 2 subs at Subway to feel full. you can eat an entire pizza at Dominos.

WTF did they do to the bread?

[–] Echo71Niner@kbin.social 14 points 1 year ago (3 children)

What's the matter? Do you find it displeasing when Subway counts the olives, lettuce pieces, and rotten frozen tomatoes? Why anyone would choose to eat at that filthy Subway store is beyond me. In Toronto, a cold cut sandwich now costs $13 before tip.

[–] Ilikepornaddict@lemmynsfw.com 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

The one's around me tried doing the counting thing for a bit. 2 of them are now closed, and the other one's let you put whatever toppings you want now. We didn't put up with that shit, and it changed.

Also, who tf tips at subway?

[–] Echo71Niner@kbin.social 8 points 1 year ago

I use to, until this one night I was in a Subway store and went to pay and added a tip, and the girl behind the counter cancelled the transaction and told me to do it again without the tip, she said the owner keeps it all. I admit I still went to other subways, but never tipped again, then stopped going all together as price gouging got worse.

Also, who tf tips at subway?

[–] thanevim@kbin.social -2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Also who tf tips at subway?

Those of us who realize the workers tend to be those unable to get anything better, even if they are trying (see: ex-convicts) and understand that $9/hr ain't a living wage

[–] Unaware7013@kbin.social 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I hope you're giving the employees cash, otherwise you're probably just giving the store a couple of extra bucks that the employees likely never see.

[–] thanevim@kbin.social -1 points 1 year ago

My wife worked at one. Cash tips are definitely best as they aren't officially taxed, but after taxes the employees do see every cent of digital taxes inside their paychecks. One biweekly paycheck was ~$50 more in tips alone for her. That was while her manager went on extended "medical" leave for an entire month and a half, leaving her, only one month into employment, fielding the lunch rush solo 3-4 days a week.

[–] Ilikepornaddict@lemmynsfw.com 10 points 1 year ago

Not my job to subsidize their wage either. The more people are willing to tip, the less likely wages will be raised.

[–] Smoogy@kbin.social -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

People who don’t know that a sandwich is just putting food stuff in between two pieces of bread. Subway as far as food chain is concerned is probably one of the easiest chains you can ignore because of how easy it is to just make it yourself. So it’s not a big huge brag that you didn’t put up with someone doing something so basic anyone below the working age learns to do to feed themselves. I mean who are these people who can’t even figure out to make a sandwich anyways? Are they not permitted to handle a knife?

[–] Echo71Niner@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago

At this point, that became true, because it's no longer fresh. I mean the bread is, always was, but nothing else is fresh anymore.

[–] MisterD@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago

They can count all they want. It won't fill anybody.

I can get sub at a supermarket for 6-8$ and it's way more filling.

[–] Smoogy@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sure.

Though tbf sandwiches are the easiest thing to make. Why people are getting something that costs under 4 dollars to make at home in under ten minutes and instead pay to have it made for 13$ and then complain about it but then keep going back is very bizarre to me. You’re paying a buck a minute for someone to slap separate, non cooked ingredients together for you. That’s 60 dollars a minute to just throw pieces of food into another form.
And you’re not even staying at subway to eat it. People get it to go and eat it anywhere else they could bring their home sandwiches to.

[–] NoIWontPickaName@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Gotta use the app, between bogo's and 6.99 footlongs paying full price is ridiculous.

[–] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

It's carbohydrate foam now. It used to be you mixed water, flour and yeast and let it sit for hours. Time is money, so now they force it to happen faster and the result is less flour and more bubbles = more profit.

[–] zesty@lemmy.ca 16 points 1 year ago (2 children)

This is encouraging me to eat less food products and focus more on just raw ingredients where there is no ingredients to skimp out on.

[–] cyborganism@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 year ago

Until you go to Loblaws and find the overpriced overripe and expired produce they try to sell.

[–] ultratiem@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 year ago

And that’s why they jacked up the price of every vegetable and fruit. A bushel of green options 3 years ago here was $0.79. It’s now $2.49. And they look meagre af.

They have every angle sewn up at this point.

[–] Pxtl@lemmy.ca 15 points 1 year ago (4 children)

The thing that always boggles my mind is seeing cheap materials in Canada. This is one of the highest cost of living places on Earth. We should expect that anything involving manual labour will be stupid expensive here... But materials? Basic ingredients? The minimum hourly wage in Canada higher than the average daily wage in a country like India. If raw materials really cost what people charge us, most of the world would suddenly become corpses laying unsheltered in the sun.

If I'm paying you over $20/hr, use the good stuff because the cost of ingredients or materials is going to be a rounding error on the bottom line!

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[–] Dearche@lemmy.ca 15 points 1 year ago

A lot of people I know have noticed this. Not just in typical groceries, but in a lot of food products.

Usually they don't know what's going on, but I've heard plenty of complaints about the taste of things they buy. Even weird ones like one beer tasting like a cheaper brand.

[–] jcrm@kbin.social 14 points 1 year ago

If only we had some kind of organization to protect consumers from harmful corporate practices.

I'm getting so fucking tired of corporations running this country.

[–] argv_minus_one@beehaw.org 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

As greed soars in the industry, I think you mean.

[–] EhForumUser@lemmy.ca -1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Is greed a long-term symptom of COVID, or what has caused it to soar?

[–] PaganDude@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Grocery chains are literally posting record profits year after year. Prices are up, and profits are up. What other explanation do you need?

[–] EhForumUser@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

So what you are saying is that when people shifted from eating in restaurants to eating at home with food sourced from grocery stores since COVID hit the streets, operating a grocery store became more profitable, while operating a restaurant became less profitable?

I agree. I work in a restaurant and our prices haven't risen since before COVID. Profitability has cratered. There isn't the customer base accepting of higher prices anymore. They'd rather eat at home. The food delivery guy claims that he has been in the industry for a long time and has never seen so little food being delivered to the restaurants on his route.

Although I'm surprised as it is clearly cheaper to eat in restaurants than it is to eat at home nowadays. Admittedly, it is hard to beat food cooked by your own hand.

[–] argv_minus_one@beehaw.org 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There isn’t the customer base accepting of higher prices anymore.

Because we're being robbed by their grocery stores and landlords, and cannot afford to eat out like we used to. You suffer from the same problem as we do, just indirectly.

Although I’m surprised as it is clearly cheaper to eat in restaurants than it is to eat at home nowadays.

Not around here, it isn't. Most restaurants have jacked up their prices as well. Eating at home is expensive, but eating out is even more so.

Admittedly, it is hard to beat food cooked by your own hand.

It's very easy to beat food cooked by my hand. I'm a horrible cook. I sorely miss being able to afford to eat out frequently.

[–] EhForumUser@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Because we’re being robbed by their grocery stores

So, there was a short period of time during the height of COVID where some restaurants tried leveraging their wholesale networks to sell groceries to those cooking at home. It wasn't tried at my job, so I have no personal experience, but I'm assuming it never really caught on as I don't hear about it anymore (and if you can trust the food delivery guy, he's not seeing it either).

But, that was when the grocery stores were still cheap, comparatively speaking – That questions if you've tried knocking on restaurant doors to express your interest in starting that (back) up? They might be keen to expand into new opportunities, not realizing that people are growing fed up with the traditional grocery stores and are excited to try alternatives. It is not like grocery stores are the only place to get food.

That said, perhaps you actually prefer to be voluntarily robbed? I don't judge.

[–] argv_minus_one@beehaw.org 5 points 1 year ago

No, COVID just gave the rich an excuse to rob us even more than they did before.

[–] Echo71Niner@kbin.social 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The Canadian government's engagement in the inflation of prices for Canadians is linked to the ownership of stocks in grocery companies, like Loblaws, by numerous Canadian politicians – a verifiable fact.

[–] Frederic@beehaw.org 8 points 1 year ago (3 children)

WTF are those price? 11$ for cheezwiz? 9$ for jam?

[–] Echo71Niner@kbin.social 6 points 1 year ago

Welcome to canada.

[–] gaydarless@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago

Corporate CEOs have taken the adage of shooting for the stars way too literally. At this point I believe they are trying to find the maximum possible price point people will pay for their products. Like seemingly everyone else in this country, they want their pound of flesh $$$.

[–] sadreality@kbin.social 0 points 1 year ago

both non essential products, people should vote with their money.

[–] Anticorp@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 year ago

as manufacturing costs soar

Yeah fucking right. More like "as corporations begin running out of valid strategies for increasing profit margins literally every quarter for eternity". Those companies are making record profits. Hell, they probably used some of those record profits to pay for that title.

[–] BarrelAgedBoredom@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

We have words for this already. Corporate greed, price gouging and lying come to mind. No need to dress it up as an inflation thing. X-flation is the x-gate of the 2020s

[–] EhForumUser@lemmy.ca -1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Normally corporate greed is met with "Fuck you. Don't be so greedy. You will accept this [lower] price or else."

Inflation is when that turns into "I know you are being greedy, but that is one stylish hat you are wearing, and for that reason I will gladly accept your [high] price!"

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