This big concern of NJ grocery shoppers is the focus of a federal proposal

Charging the same or more for a food item or other household products while shrinking the package size, sometimes ever so slightly — shrinkflation.

New Jersey shoppers are far from alone in experiencing this discouraging, longtime tactic by large companies.

Household paper products — paper towels, toilet paper — have been the most reported items with downsized packaging over a six-year span, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Snack foods were the second most downsized items reported — a total of 509 over the same 2015-2021 period.

A group of Democratic legislators, including two from New Jersey, has proposed holding companies accountable, by officially declaring the practice as deceptive and unfair to consumers.

Federal Reserve data indicates that from 2020 to 2022, corporate profits rose by 75% —five times as fast as inflation, according to U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), who compiled multiple cases of shrunken packages over the past several years in a December report.

“We’ve all felt the disappointment of opening a bag of chips and finding out that it’s mostly full of air – and that’s not an accident,” U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) said in a recent written release.

The Democrat from the 11th Congressional district continued, “For too long, large corporations have gotten away with charging more and selling less, while New Jerseyans foot the bill. Tackling this issue of shrinkflation is a big step in stopping inflation at the supermarket.”

U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) is similarly co-sponsoring the Senate version of the act.

The Shrinkflation Prevention Act has been led by U.S. Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA, 3rd District) and Chris Deluzio (D-PA, 17th District) in the House and Casey in the Senate.

If approved — which is a considerably long shot along partisan lines — it would direct the Federal Trade Commission to develop regulations establishing shrinkflation as an unfair or deceptive act or practice.

The act would also give the FTC and state governments authority to pursue legal actions against corporations that unlawfully engage in shrinkflation.

A year ago, 73% of American consumers surveyed in a YouGov poll said they were concerned about shrinkflation – with 41% "very concerned" and 32% "fairly concerned."

More than half of U.S. consumers surveyed said price and quality were factors in them continuing to buy shrinkflation-affected products, YouGov said in newere analysis in February.

In the meantime, sound advice for shoppers as offered by AARP is to pay attention to net weight and count, and to consider going generic on staple items.

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