# Didn’t spaghetti sauce jars used to be 32 ounces? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 16, 2018, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didn-t-spaghetti-sauce-jars-used-to-be-32-ounces/812528 "2018-04-16T18:38:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didn-t-spaghetti-sauce-jars-used-to-be-32-ounces/812528/21 "2018-04-17T03:03:18Z")
I wonder how these lesser amounts work out in grams and liters. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didn-t-spaghetti-sauce-jars-used-to-be-32-ounces/812528/22 "2018-04-17T03:07:54Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > Being a defeatist is stupid and useless. He might as well give that up too. 😃 I will tell him you said so. But he’ll just complain that everyone is against him. He’s kinda pitiful.😉 ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didn-t-spaghetti-sauce-jars-used-to-be-32-ounces/812528/23 "2018-04-17T03:12:17Z")
> [@Grumbacher\_Red](#): > > * * * > > And that new smaller tube probably has some of the volume taken up by air. ☹ > > I bitched about this in another thread, so I apologize for those of you reading me say this again. Yes I believe I recall your other post, and me like others have not noticed any air in toothpaste tubes. Since that former post I have not noticed any air also. ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didn-t-spaghetti-sauce-jars-used-to-be-32-ounces/812528/24 "2018-04-17T03:54:43Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Yes I believe I recall your other post, and me like others have not noticed any air in toothpaste tubes. Since that former post I have not noticed any air also. Well like I said, I apologize you had to read it again. As to the original OP and changing sizes, it could be presented to us by clever marketers that the food industry is trying to help all of us overweight Americans with portion size by making everything smaller, but really, they know you will just by 2 to make it come out even. So either way they come out ahead, and the consumer doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didn-t-spaghetti-sauce-jars-used-to-be-32-ounces/812528/25 "2018-04-17T11:21:48Z")
Oh, yeah, they sometimes do that, too. 100-Calorie snack packs, anyone? ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didn-t-spaghetti-sauce-jars-used-to-be-32-ounces/812528/26 "2018-04-17T11:57:47Z")
Canned pumpkin is no longer a pound, so I had to adjust my pie recipe accordingly. Mayo jars are no longer a quart, they’re 30 oz. I think the only things unchanged are a pound of butter, a gallon of milk, and a dozen eggs. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didn-t-spaghetti-sauce-jars-used-to-be-32-ounces/812528/27 "2018-04-17T12:20:21Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > You’re behind the time: most yogurt is 5.3 ounces. > > Cans of tuna have shrunk down to 5 oz. I remember when they were over six. Wow you’re right. I just checked a couple of Chobanis in the fridge and they are indeed 5.3 oz. I _think_ the store brand yogurts are still 6, but I don’t have any in the fridge at the moment to verify. Good news though - the sour cream is still 8 oz! (Unless it used to be 10. ☹ ) ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didn-t-spaghetti-sauce-jars-used-to-be-32-ounces/812528/28 "2018-04-17T19:59:37Z")
This shenanigan has been going on forever: the company knows that people will complain or rethink their purchase if they raise prices. So, rather than charging more, they sell less for the same price. **Consumerist** used to call it the “grocery shrink ray”. You can still read old articles about it [here](https://consumerist.com/tag/grocery-shrink-ray-2/). One of the most egregious examples: [McCormick’s ground black pepper](https://consumerist.com/2015/06/10/watkins-sues-mccormick-over-pepper-makes-federal-case-out-of-grocery-shrink-ray/). They reduced the amount of pepper in a tin, in one case from 8 ounces to 6 ounces, but kept the size of the tin the same. ---
**Author:** ![pdhenry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pdhenry/32/5561_2.png) [@pdhenry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pdhenry)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didn-t-spaghetti-sauce-jars-used-to-be-32-ounces/812528/29 "2018-04-17T21:29:24Z")
Pasta sauce at the warehouse clubs is still 32 ounces (as of the last time I looked). We reuse the Mason jars they come in for canning things like chili and chicken stock. Recently they’ve gone to a nonstandard lid size for some jar sizes, which throws a wrench in our frugality. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didn-t-spaghetti-sauce-jars-used-to-be-32-ounces/812528.md?page=1)