Bigger prices come in smaller package sizes

Last weekend, while scraping the last of some reduced-fat mayonnaise out of its quart jar, I peered inside and noticed a hump in the jar's bottom. Curious, I turned the empty jar over and saw, instead of the flat bottom I expected, a major indent. Turning the jar back over, my eye caught the label and it read "30 oz."

Just a second. This jar has, forever, been a quart - 32 ounces - not 30.

I felt betrayed and more than a little miffed. I didn't want to believe that Hellmann's would try to fool me by making the jar appear the same.

If they'd made the jar larger, "NEW, Larger Size!" would have been splashed all over the label. If I hadn't caught the "30 ounce," I would have never known. What's going on here?

Pure and simple: a price hike.

For a multitude of reasons, Hellmann's and other food manufacturers are reducing package sizes and raising prices. The price of corn oil is up, which probably played a major role in pressuring Hellmann's to raise the price. Farmers must spend more on gas to run their tractors and harvesting machines, pushing the cost of raw ingredients up. And it costs manufacturers more to transport food, whether by truck, train or plane.

Then there's Economics 101: supply and demand. The U.S. may produce more food than ever before, so the supply side of that equation is strong. However, we no longer just compete within our 50 states for that food, we compete on a global basis. Countries, like China and India, whose booming economies have produced a large and still-growing middle class, compete for that food, too. Even though our supply side's fine or even abundant, global demand for that food is stronger than ever.

The end result: demand's up and so manufacturers can raise prices.

An Internet search found a Consumer Reports article showing that Hershey's reduced its half-pound "Giant" Special Dark Chocolate Bar from 8 ounces to 6.8 ounces, and Breyer's ice cream half-gallon went from 64 ounces to 56 and now stands at 48 - a full 25-percent smaller.

Mouseprint.org showed that Kellogg's Apple Jacks (11 ounces to 8.7), Corn Pops, Fruit Loops (19.7 to 17), Cocoa Krispies, and others created slimmer packages (same height and width, though) for the downsized cereals and that Tropicana reduced a 96-ounce orange juice container to 89 ounces and that Starkist skimmed 1 ounce off a can of tuna. At walletpop.com, research showed that Skippy created a new peanut butter jar (similar to Hellmann's with the new bottom bump-in) and went from 18 ounces to 16.2.

I am into keeping myself downsized, but I'd rather have "real" quarts of reduced-fat mayo, 64-ounce half-gallons of low-fat, sugar-free ice cream and full-sized cereal boxes and pay more, than feel fooled by quietly downsized food packages.

What's happening isn't consumer fraud; just slippery sleight of hand.

Try this recipe: In the early 1990s I created a lean version of a Southwestern casserole that's easy to make and tastes great. I shared that recipe in my first cookbook and continue to make it, only now I use multigrain, higher fiber pasta and even leaner (93 versus 90-percent) ground beef. Give it a try.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, shared recipes and makeover requests for your favorite dishes. Address them to Don Mauer, Daily Herald Food section, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006 or don@theleanwizard.com.South of the Border LeanWise CasseroleVegetable oil spray 1 pound 93 percent lean ground beef #190; cup diced onion #190; cup diced sweet green pepper 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced 1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes 2 cups fat-free sour cream1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon chili powder #189; teaspoon salt #189; pound uncooked multi-grain penne or macaroni pasta (such as Barilla Plus) Lightly spray a large non-stick skillet or 4- to 6-quart saucepan with vegetable oil and over medium-high heat brown the ground beef. Drain any fat from pan. Add onions and green pepper and cook until softened.Stir in the jalapeno pepper, tomatoes, sour cream, sugar, chili powder and salt. Add the pasta, stir together with the beef mixture and simmer until the pasta is tender, about 20-25 minutes.Serves four.@Recipe nutrition:Nutrition values per serving: 585 calories (15.1 percent from fat), 9.8 g fat (3.6 g saturated fat), 81 g carbohydrates, 6.7 g fiber, 40.3 g protein, 50 mg cholesterol, 752 mg sodium.SaltSense: Standard canned tomatoes contribute almost 34-percent of the sodium to this casserole. Substitute no-salt-added whole canned tomatoes and reduce sodium to 498 mg per serving. Omitt the added salt and sodium drops to 208 mg per serving.