Your groceries are still shrinking

Do the things you buy seem not to last as long as they used to?

It's not that you're eating more ice cream (at least we hope you're not). It's that the packages keep getting smaller.

The incredible shrinking product trend that started several years ago is still going strong, Consumer Reports writes in its February issue. Post continues after video.

It's a stealth price hike, says Consumer Reports senior editor and shopping expert Tod Marks. As he told WUSA TV in Washington, D.C.:

It's easier for them to simply shave a little bit off here, a little bit off there, and it's less likely to antagonize costumers. The fact of the matter is people know prices, but they don't know sizes.

Here are some of the downsized products found by Consumer Reports and its readers:

• Ivory dishwashing detergent, down from 30 ounces to 24 ounces.
• Tropicana orange juice, down from 64 ounces to 59 ounces.
• Kraft Singles cheese, down from 24 slices to 22 slices. (As far as we know, the individual slices have not shrunk, but keep an eye on them.)
• Haagen-Dazs ice cream, down from 16 ounces to 14 ounces.
• Scott toilet tissue, down from 115.2 square feet a roll to 104.8 square feet.
• Chicken of the Sea pink salmon, down from 3 ounces to 2.6 ounces.

Manufacturers told the magazine that costs were rising, so they had a choice of either shrinking the product or raising the price.

Sally Greenberg, executive director at the National Consumers League, thinks raising the price would be more honest.

"If they have to pass prices along, they should explain, 'We have higher fuel prices and we have to make up the price somehow,'" she told Lyneka Little at ABC News. "I think it makes consumers mad, it makes them cynical about being deceived, and consumers would appreciate a more straightforward approach."

She reminds us that unit pricing is our friend and is the best way to compare products, since the same size juice container may contain varying amounts of juice depending on the brand -- or even the variety of the same brand, as Consumer Reports noted.

Consumer Reports also advises looking at different brands, including store brands, and complaining to manufacturers, who often respond with coupons.

What products have you noticed shrinking? Would you rather see higher prices or smaller packages?