Juice cartons squeezed – but not the price

TROPICANA has quietly cut the size of many of its one-litre cartons by 15 per cent despite keeping the price the same.

A range of juices, including orange and tropical fruit, have dropped to 850ml.

All of them still sell at supermarkets for around £2.50.

The US company did not reduce the recommended retail price of the smaller-sized drinks, which shops use to set the cost of products.

A spokesman for Tropicana said: “We changed the size of some of our Tropicana Creations packs in 2015 and we always ensure that our products are clearly labelled so the customer knows exactly what they are buying.

“We do not set the retail price of our products. Individual retailers determine the price at which they sell our products.”

The practice, known as “shrinkflation”, has become widespread following the slump in the pound’s value in the wake of the vote to leave the EU.

Mondelez International introduced large gaps between the peaks of chocolate on its famous Toblerone bar. Consumers described the move as “the wrong decision” and said the bigger spaces looked “stupid”.

In a statement on the Toblerone Facebook page, the firm said: “We had to make a decision between changing the shape of the bar and raising the price.

“We chose to change the shape to keep the product affordable for our customers.”

Mondelez has also hollowed out the segments of Terry’s Chocolate Orange, cutting its weight from 175g to 157g.

Pleading the rise of the cost of raw materials, Mars has made bags of Maltesers about 15 per cent lighter, while the price has not been reduced.