5 ms·

It is not just IKEA. Besides shrinkflation, there must be something like shitficflation, because here in C. Europe, mince and sausages became basically inedible

It is not just IKEA. Besides shrinkflation, there must be something like shitficflation, because here in C. Europe, mince and sausages became basically inedible over the past 12 years. Which is a shame as I used to enjoy both.

RC_ITR 4y ago
This is going to feel like a personal attack, but it's intended to be commiserating: Welcome to getting old.
- SllX 4y ago
  Is that why eating out isn’t as much fun as it used to be either?
  - acchow 4y ago
    Yes. It also becomes increasingly expensive to find enjoyable/delightful food.
- mantas 4y ago
  Why do I feel young again at a tiny butcher shop then? Same old good sausages as always. Although for a much higher price...
- luciusdomitius 4y ago
  To be honest, I really took that into account. For example this crap fat (known by everyone) momma-pizza's taste has deteriorated from 8 to 6. High quality single-malt's taste has deteriorated from 7 to 5, while mince and sausages have seen such an insane drop, that they are literally no longer edible (so <3). In my childhood I'd rate them 7 or 8. But yeah, feelings get blunt with age, not only the feelings of pleasure, but also the feelings of suffering. That's why it is much easier to run 42km at age 35 when it is literally 3 times much more difficult than at age 25..
radicalbyte 4y ago
I legit prefer the veggie meats to supermarket burgers/mince.
kzrdude 4y ago
I think so, because we have seen inflation already in most areas of life: rising prices (and I'm thinking of pre-2022). However food has somehow more or less stayed level. Much of it means we were paying the same for ever worse quality food.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
xattt 4y ago
I am wondering how Costco is doing with their chickens and hot dogs.
- paulmd 4y ago
  Those were openly acknowledged to be loss-leaders even before COVID. But I wonder how long they're going to stay with their current pricing, with food prices soaring across the board. End of an era, probably. And I have no doubt they're what holds Sam's Club pricing down too, as soon as they bump their prices so will Sam's.
  - shard 4y ago
    If those are indeed loss leaders, what would be the reason for the addition push for the products recently? Nowadays there are Costco employees bringing pizzas to the checkout lines and trying to sell them. Are these overproductions due to a drop in demand?
    - brewdad 4y ago
      My Costco has never returned to making pizzas, neither frozen nor in the "restaurant" since the pandemic started. I can't even imagine them selling pizzas in the checkout.
      - paulmd 4y ago
        that's odd, I talk with a couple people about costco finds and nobody ever has had their cafes stop making pizzas. The costco menus are nationalized though - Costco Canada for example got the Polish Dog long after it had disappeared from the US, as well as chicken strips, fries, wings, and poutine. They also apparently still get brown mustard and sauerkraut even though, again, those disappeared from the US when COVID hit. So maybe you are not in the US? But pizzas are definitely still in cafes in the US - apart from the Combo Pizza which did disappear at the start of COVID along with the brown mustard and sauerkraut (RIP my tastebuds) https://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/2536803/costco-food-court-menu-around-the-world/ https://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/2536803/c... Costco Korea gets some very interesting items, including a pork cutlet, bulgogi bake, abalone porridge, and a blueberry smoothie or at least they did pre-COVID (no idea since, I don't live there). https://www.businessinsider.com/costco-food-court-in-south-korea-taste-test-2020-2 https://www.businessinsider.com/costco-food-court-in-south-k... Costco Japan apparently got a cheeseburger, salad in a cup, the bulgogi bake, and clam chowder. https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/sfedjh/food_court_in_makuhari_japan_2018_funny_enough/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/sfedjh/food_court_i... The hot dog, however, is a Costco icon. One must partake in communion before leaving the Church. I will take a look through the deli section next time I'm there, but I do agree on that one, I think the take-n-bake went away when covid hit. I can't remember noticing them since then at least, but I don't like them and don't seek them out (they're different and not as good as the cafe ones). My store is a smaller one and is missing many of the items in the other stores 30-45 minutes away. For example, no pre-peeled garlic, no standby generators (why?! suburbanites probably would buy more home upgrades than urbanites...), a more limited selection of household goods, etc. It is up to the discretion of the manager. I have recently seen them hawking fresh-baked artisan rolls in the entry foyer near the TVs though, so I would definitely believe they might be hawking pizzas in the checkouts as people are lined up to wait. Maybe there is a push for that from corporate, sell more made-in-store foods like that. They probably just have some employees with a hot-bag going around being like "hot fresh pizza, take one home to the kids!" or something, and the cashier rings it up when it's your turn. That's basically what they were doing with the artisan rolls last time I was there, only (again) in the entry foyer.
assttoasstmgr 4y ago
> here in C. Europe, mince and sausages became basically inedible Are you referring to frozen, processed meat? In North America you can find fresh ground meat at most supermarkets and the store-made version is generally made from the butcher's trimmings e.g. steak cuts. Fresh in that it's labeled with an expiration date, at most 2-3 days from production. USDA guidelines and all that.
wincy 4y ago
Ah yeah Freakonomics coined the term “skimpflation”, like how costs are the same but when you go to a hotel there’s no room service, or you go to a Denny’s and wait 2 hours for a server to even acknowledge you. Businesses are just skimping everywhere.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
samplatt 4y ago
As someone that's worked in a few slaughterhouses and meat-production places, I'm very curious as to what you mean by "inedible". Off flavours? Old (actually toxic, or just near it) meat? Too much bread fill? Too much fat? (from what I've had of traditional Polish meals I'm guessing that last one wouldn't be a problem)
rapsey 4y ago
Buy them at farmers markets not the store.

RC_ITR 4y ago

This is going to feel like a personal attack, but it's intended to be commiserating: Welcome to getting old.

SllX 4y ago
Is that why eating out isn’t as much fun as it used to be either?
- acchow 4y ago
  Yes. It also becomes increasingly expensive to find enjoyable/delightful food.
mantas 4y ago
Why do I feel young again at a tiny butcher shop then? Same old good sausages as always. Although for a much higher price...
luciusdomitius 4y ago
To be honest, I really took that into account. For example this crap fat (known by everyone) momma-pizza's taste has deteriorated from 8 to 6. High quality single-malt's taste has deteriorated from 7 to 5, while mince and sausages have seen such an insane drop, that they are literally no longer edible (so <3). In my childhood I'd rate them 7 or 8. But yeah, feelings get blunt with age, not only the feelings of pleasure, but also the feelings of suffering. That's why it is much easier to run 42km at age 35 when it is literally 3 times much more difficult than at age 25..

radicalbyte 4y ago

I legit prefer the veggie meats to supermarket burgers/mince.

kzrdude 4y ago

I think so, because we have seen inflation already in most areas of life: rising prices (and I'm thinking of pre-2022). However food has somehow more or less stayed level. Much of it means we were paying the same for ever worse quality food.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

xattt 4y ago

I am wondering how Costco is doing with their chickens and hot dogs.

paulmd 4y ago
Those were openly acknowledged to be loss-leaders even before COVID. But I wonder how long they're going to stay with their current pricing, with food prices soaring across the board. End of an era, probably. And I have no doubt they're what holds Sam's Club pricing down too, as soon as they bump their prices so will Sam's.
- shard 4y ago
  If those are indeed loss leaders, what would be the reason for the addition push for the products recently? Nowadays there are Costco employees bringing pizzas to the checkout lines and trying to sell them. Are these overproductions due to a drop in demand?
  - brewdad 4y ago
    My Costco has never returned to making pizzas, neither frozen nor in the "restaurant" since the pandemic started. I can't even imagine them selling pizzas in the checkout.
    - paulmd 4y ago
      that's odd, I talk with a couple people about costco finds and nobody ever has had their cafes stop making pizzas. The costco menus are nationalized though - Costco Canada for example got the Polish Dog long after it had disappeared from the US, as well as chicken strips, fries, wings, and poutine. They also apparently still get brown mustard and sauerkraut even though, again, those disappeared from the US when COVID hit. So maybe you are not in the US? But pizzas are definitely still in cafes in the US - apart from the Combo Pizza which did disappear at the start of COVID along with the brown mustard and sauerkraut (RIP my tastebuds) https://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/2536803/costco-food-court-menu-around-the-world/ https://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/2536803/c... Costco Korea gets some very interesting items, including a pork cutlet, bulgogi bake, abalone porridge, and a blueberry smoothie or at least they did pre-COVID (no idea since, I don't live there). https://www.businessinsider.com/costco-food-court-in-south-korea-taste-test-2020-2 https://www.businessinsider.com/costco-food-court-in-south-k... Costco Japan apparently got a cheeseburger, salad in a cup, the bulgogi bake, and clam chowder. https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/sfedjh/food_court_in_makuhari_japan_2018_funny_enough/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/sfedjh/food_court_i... The hot dog, however, is a Costco icon. One must partake in communion before leaving the Church. I will take a look through the deli section next time I'm there, but I do agree on that one, I think the take-n-bake went away when covid hit. I can't remember noticing them since then at least, but I don't like them and don't seek them out (they're different and not as good as the cafe ones). My store is a smaller one and is missing many of the items in the other stores 30-45 minutes away. For example, no pre-peeled garlic, no standby generators (why?! suburbanites probably would buy more home upgrades than urbanites...), a more limited selection of household goods, etc. It is up to the discretion of the manager. I have recently seen them hawking fresh-baked artisan rolls in the entry foyer near the TVs though, so I would definitely believe they might be hawking pizzas in the checkouts as people are lined up to wait. Maybe there is a push for that from corporate, sell more made-in-store foods like that. They probably just have some employees with a hot-bag going around being like "hot fresh pizza, take one home to the kids!" or something, and the cashier rings it up when it's your turn. That's basically what they were doing with the artisan rolls last time I was there, only (again) in the entry foyer.

assttoasstmgr 4y ago

> here in C. Europe, mince and sausages became basically inedible Are you referring to frozen, processed meat? In North America you can find fresh ground meat at most supermarkets and the store-made version is generally made from the butcher's trimmings e.g. steak cuts. Fresh in that it's labeled with an expiration date, at most 2-3 days from production. USDA guidelines and all that.

wincy 4y ago

Ah yeah Freakonomics coined the term “skimpflation”, like how costs are the same but when you go to a hotel there’s no room service, or you go to a Denny’s and wait 2 hours for a server to even acknowledge you. Businesses are just skimping everywhere.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

samplatt 4y ago

As someone that's worked in a few slaughterhouses and meat-production places, I'm very curious as to what you mean by "inedible". Off flavours? Old (actually toxic, or just near it) meat? Too much bread fill? Too much fat? (from what I've had of traditional Polish meals I'm guessing that last one wouldn't be a problem)

rapsey 4y ago

Buy them at farmers markets not the store.