Everything is being watered down.

dealyboy

pumpkin89 said:

YoungBlueEyes said:

When I'm buying washing up liquid I always tip the bottle over so I can see how fast it runs to the other end, even if I'm buying more of the same.  Brand name/high price doesn't always mean it's the best.

You also can't assume that different varieties (colours/scents) of the same brand will be equally effective.  Sometimes the proportion of active ingredients is different, or the consistency varies.  I've noticed that with handwash, too - within one brand, the different "flavours" behave very differently.

I must admit that's what I think (without any evidence). There's another one or two 'varieties' of the Tesco washing up liquid I might buy, I remember the rhubarb 'flavour' ... never again. The 'go to' was lemon, a bit boring, but better than the brand name so having been disappointed by the other flavours I've returned to the lemon, but too late  .

YoungBlueEyes

That's another thing I'll have watch out for, the active ingredients. Thanks @pumpkin89 I've got into the habit of just thinking thicker is better with checking further :rolleyes: 

maman

I can't agree on the 4x concentrate squash in Sainsburys. When it went from 2x (and doubled in price), I definitely don't use half the quantity.

I find with shower gel, if I transfer it to a pump action container (recycled from hand-wash), I know how many pumps work for me and it lasts ages. 

Aldi Classic washing up liquid certainly isn't as good, probably why they lost the Good Housekeeping mark. 

Baked beans definitely have more sauce. 

For toothpaste, I buy the £1 Oral B in the £shop and that lasts well but I use an electric toothbrush so the head is tiny which maybe explains why others use more. 

Zandoni

My latest find is Heinz Mushroom soup, definitely more watery and not so creamy.

Murphybear

Zandoni said:

My latest find is Heinz Mushroom soup, definitely more watery and not so creamy.

I’m not a huge soup fan.  OH buys the Campbells condensed soups so there’s no problem with it being watery 

PLRFD

If anyone thinks of trying Frey Bentos soups check out the YouTube reviews of them I’ve not seen one positive review they all say zero taste or horrible or both.

Niv

HillStreetBlues said:

Zandoni said:

dealyboy said:

@jon81uk said:

dealyboy said:

Definitely noticed it with the Sainsbury's Stamford Street toothpaste and also has large air pockets, 100ml lasts little more than a week. I did a comparison with another 'brand' on g/ml and it was lower by a third.

Another Stamford Street product, tinned chopped tomatoes 400g seems a lot more watery in recent times.

How much toothpaste are you using! I get 75ml tubes of Colgate max white and that lasts a month for two people.

Well indeed Jon. It seemed to start when the Sainsbury's brand with blue lettering changed to the Stamford Street one. You might think it's just a lot of hot air, but actually that's probably exactly it ... I don't use the brand any more but after a few squeezes, maybe about ten, I would hear a pop while squeezing and it was just air coming until the tube was flat. Happened to about four tubes.

It's always a bad sign when the packaging changes, it usually means a step down in quality.

And the word "improved" is added

'new formula' yea we all know what that means haha

Cornucopia

I opened a new Lidl "Cien" shower gel this morning - new packaging, new product size, and found it was pleasingly thick and rich.  

Niv

Cornucopia said:

I opened a new Lidl "Cien" shower gel this morning - new packaging, new product size, and found it was pleasingly thick and rich.  

I find Cien very good tbh. I tend to use their version of Lynx

weby72

On a different tack, red wine is definitely being deliberately watered-down - as witnessed by the abv for many (most?) well-known wines from between 12.5% and 13.5% to 10.5% - 11%

They first started with the lowest priced wine (the bargain stuff and own-brand), but by the summer the well-known and best-selling (Hardy's Stamp, Isla Negra, McGuigan, Blossom Hill, etc) had cut theirs.

The sneaky sods have all generally introduced 'premium' new variations on their existing brands with fancy/gold labelling and titles, with the previous abv levels... but for about £2 more than they were charging for the old brands.

Many lagers have been doing similar and Fosters, once one the 'standard 4%' mainstays, has cut to a miserly 3.7% (and you can taste it)

'Drinkflation' I've seen it all referred to as.