I cant afford to eat anymore : Grocery Store Horror stories :)

by SnakesInTheTower 32 Replies latest jw friends

  • SnakesInTheTower
    SnakesInTheTower

    First... I am in no immediate danger of starving .... I am gainfully employed, doing fine, but damn groceries are getting expensive ..and the scams are abundant...I was in the grocery today attempting to pick up a couple of things.....

    As an example... I love Breyer's All Natural Ice Cream...

    First...the story of the incredible shrinking ice cream box.... for years and year the box was one half gallon (US)...2 FULL quarts...then somewhere a couple years back, it shrunk to 1.75 quarts...but in the same size box..... today, I was at the grocery, and seen the stuff was on sale..... hmmmmm...something fishy.... yep... it is now 1.5 quarts.... and I carefully compared the 1.75 box in my freezer with my new 1.5 box. The lid is exactly the same dimensions....but the height is about1/4 inch shorter and the real kicker is the base (footprint) is about 3/4 in shorter.... but unless you put them side by side (as was the case in the grocery today as they had old and new stock together), you would never notice. What a scam. Some of the other ice cream companies are doing the same now with the boxes....

    Second, do you remember the commercial years ago with the little kid trying to read the ingredients off the competitor's box and then easily reading Breyer's label? My how things have changed.... Only if you get "All Natural" Breyers (not "Homestyle" or "Double Churned", etc) is it truly all-natural ingredients...but there is a catch.....they have added two new all-natural ingredient...that I am sure none of us have in our pantry. This new secret ingredients? Tara Gum and whey.

    TARA GUM: The major component of the gum is a galactomannanpolymer similar to the main components of guar and locust bean gums that are used widely in the food industry. Tara gum has been deemed safe for human consumption as a food additive. [6] Tara gum is used as a thickening agent and stabilizer in a number of food applications. A solution of tara gum is less viscous than a guar gum solution of the same concentration, but more viscous than a solution of locust bean gum. Blends of tara with modified and unmodified starches can be produced which have enhanced stabilization and emulsification properties, and these are used in the preparation of convenience foods, such as ice cream.
    a by-product of the manufacture of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses ..... It is also an additive in many processed foods

    hmmm...so while tara gum and whey are all-natural......I sure dont have any in my pantry.......so much for Breyer's "Pledge of Purity"....... First, they shrink the amount in the carton slowly, then they raise the price slowly, and finally add crap slowly and we never notice... the ingredients in big font lists the usual all natural ingredients and then adds "and other natural ingredients"... only when you turn the box around and look at the official ingredients listing do you see the newbies.

    The other thing that is irritating the crap out of me...and has for a long time, but more so now..is high fructose corn syrup..you can click on it if you want to read all the gory details. Even whole wheat bread... unless you look really carefully to find the bread made with molasses not HFC90.... and that stuff is expensive....

    Another item....I love yogurt....yep.... HFC90 in all but the high end organic brands....and even all but one of the organics had some sort of gum in it...what the hell? And the one that didnt was twice the price of the crap versions.....

    So unless you grow it yourself from seeds you are certain were not processed with chemical fertilizers, water it with highly purified water, in a self-contained greenhouse.... and mill it, process it yourself...and raise the animals the same way... you are SOL on eating healthy. And if by luck you do find food that meets the criteria of food made 100 years ago.... you are going to pay out the a$$.....

    Is it no wonder that poor people in this country have the worst eating habits? The only food they can afford is full of crap. And that is if they are educated enough to look. I knew alot of this...but taking a nutrition class...OMG....... I am scared of how much I don't know...Sometimes ignorance is bliss...

    Oh well...just had to get this off my chest.... I feel better now.... I think I will go make myself a milk shake (with milk form hormone injected cows and tara gum filled breyers...LOL)

    Snakes ()

  • beksbks
    beksbks

    Snakes how funny you mention the ice cream container size. Just yesterday, I looked at the Dreyers or something like Edies back east. I noticed the 1.5 business too.

    Have you tried shopping at Trader Joe's? Not sure what state you live in, but they are soooooo much cheaper, and you'll have a much easier time of finding natural stuff with no HFCS.

  • BabaYaga
    BabaYaga

    Snakes!!! YES!!!!

    My Honey is the one who noticed the Breyer's cartons consistantly getting SMALLER and
    s m a l l e r...
    I think it has happened at least twice in the past five years.

    Pretty soon we'll be paying for a 1/2 gallon and getting a pint!

    Okay, I feel like an old person ranting like this.

  • John Doe
    John Doe

    I don't mind the marketing. Inflation is a fact of life and has to be dealt with. Besides, most stores now have a price per ounce posted by most foods, so you don't even have to do mental calculations to compare.

  • restrangled
    restrangled

    Snakes I haven't looked but this week at our grocery store it was 3 cartons of Edye's icecream for 10 dollars.

    I refuse to look....I can't stand the ripoffs anymore, you know the typical jw response!

    r.

  • Gopher
    Gopher
    I don't mind the marketing. Inflation is a fact of life and has to be dealt with. Besides, most stores now have a price per ounce posted by most foods, so you don't even have to do mental calculations to compare.

    True, but to me that's all immaterial. I want to buy a real half gallon of ice cream. When they cut out 25% it doesn't last as long. I think it's ridiculous I'd have to buy two containers to get enough to last a while.

  • SnakesInTheTower
    SnakesInTheTower

    JD:

    most stores now have a price per ounce posted by most foods, so you don't even have to do mental calculations to compare.

    except that you dont have a price to compare ($4.00 for 1.75 qts vs $4.00 vs 1.5 qts) because the tags have been changed out... who the hell remembers what the price was when it was the bigger carton... I dunno..you are right of course... inflation is a fact of life...it just seems that the way they are going about it is underhanded...why not just keep the 1/2 gal size and increase the price? Oh...then the price increase would be noticed...seems like I know of another corporation who slips in new prices light to their customers members this way....

    beksbks:

    Trader Joe's? Not sure what state you live in, but they are soooooo much cheaper

    I have thought about them or Whole Foods...unfortunately, both are 30 miles each way away from me...not on the way to the office...have to go out of the way... so....with gas the way it is... it would cost me $8 for a trip... I might do it once a month if I think about it.... have to pack a cooler and ice so it stays fresh on the ride home...

    Snakes ()

  • John Doe
    John Doe

    Gopher, isn't it possible that the average customer wanted smaller cartons because they didn't finish bigger ones before they spoil? Just playing devil's advocate here. ;-)

  • BreakingAway
    BreakingAway

    It seems a lot of companies are jumping on the "raise the price" bandwagon.Of course, it's not like they didn't do that before, and I suppose they're opportunistic by nature, but now they feel they've got a legitimate excuse to raise prices.After all, "everybody's doing it".Some really will have increased expenses to deal with, so they'll pass these on to the consumer, but then they tack a bit more on "just because they can."Sales are always being run somewhere, so I look for those when I can.

    What's interesting during times like these, is that some companies also decide to be opportunistic by producing a less expensive, but not necessarily "cheaper", or lower quality , product.It's also a very good time for entrepreneurs to make their move and establish a product at a competitive rate and this in turn can lead to the dropping of prices in a mainsteam market.As they say "Necessity is the mother of invention." And the same goes for Innovation.

  • momzcrazy
    momzcrazy

    My treat, about once a month, is a McD's grilled chicken club sandwich combo. I just noticed that it is $6.00! For McD's!

    Veggies are out of sight too. Avacados for $1.50 a piece. Oranges for $.75 each. But good ol Hamburger Helper is still $.97 at Walmart.

    momz

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