Shopper left scratching head over ‘shrinking bread’ at Coles

Shrinkflation is seeping into every aspect of a grocery shop, but one supermarket has hit back after a photo of their bread went viral.

Shrinkflation is seeping into every aspect of a grocery shop, but one supermarket has hit back after a photo of their bread went viral.

A man took to Reddit to share a picture of a slice of bread from Coles bakery that was smaller than the palm of his hand.

“Woke up with massive hands … or Coles bakery bread is shrinking,” the man captioned the image.

But Coles were quick to shut down the idea that its bakery bread had shrunk, with a spokesperson telling news.com.au: “The Coles in-store bakery bread has not reduced in size.”

Shopper left scratching head over ‘shrinking bread’ at Coles. Picture: Reddit

But it isn’t the only product people have taken aim at this week, with another Reddit thread showing more than 70 grams difference between two boxes of Ritz crackers.

“Ritz crackers last week’s shop vs. this week. Same price, same cracker, different sizes,” the social media user complained.

Other social media users felt inclined to agree.

“This is why Colesworths keep doing the little micro scale toy promotions. Eventually the entire store will be only Lego scale products,” one social media user said.

Another added: “Honestly surprised that it’s not 25 per cent dearer also.”

A Mondelez spokesperson, the company behind Ritz, told news.com.au the reason behind the change.

“Due to the rising costs that many manufacturers are facing, we have made the difficult decision to adjust the recommended size of RITZ Original & Cracked Pepper. This ensures we can continue to deliver the highest quality crackers our fans know and love,” the spokeperson said.

“We know this will disappoint some, however, we’re committed to providing Australians the same high-quality and great tasting RITZ Crackers.

“The last few years have been extremely challenging for food manufacturers and like many, we have experienced significant supply chain challenges and absorbed rising commodity and input costs.

“We always hold product weights for as long as can, however, sometimes have to make adjustments to ensure we can continue to manufacture our snacks sustainably in this environment.”

Ritz crackers were also slammed. Picture: Reddit

Shrinkflation is the idea that grocery items have got smaller in size but shoppers are still paying the same cost.

Last year, an infuriating report by money-saving app Frugl released a list of products affected by the phenomenon known as “shrinkflation”.

It found that some products had decreased in size by up to 20 per cent, without a change in price.

Frugl CEO Sean Smith told the Courier Mail at the time that the chances of these products ever returning to their original size is slim – adding it was more likely that prices would come down in the distant future.

“These pressures aren’t looking to ease anytime soon and if we look over the past 12 months, the bulk price increases have been in the last quarter,” Mr Smith said.

“It’s been quite recent because of major events, particularly the war in Ukraine and its impacts on fuel costs.”