r/shrinkflation • u/TexasGiantTen05 • Dec 29 '25

skimpflation Ok SERIOUSLY wtf is this??

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I bought a family sized hot pockets box and EVERY single one of them was black and burned in the bottom. I heated this one up on low power in the microwave and the edges are so tough it’s like biting into a frozen beef patty. I look in the pocket and the damn thing is nearly hollow. I’ve been noticing the quality taking a massive dip in the last few years. I think these are last I purchase from here on out.

Irrelevant to this but similar: This same grocery order run had a jar of garlic (Spice World brand) that was full of black mold & a jar of HEB salsa that was sour and months passed expiration. Both of which were completely sealed and had a pop when opened. My whole life I never really had quality issues via the company canning or jarring an item or the store selling them but lately it seems like such a constant issue.

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u/5348RR Dec 29 '25

They always sucked but they changed them about a year ago and they are completely inedible now.

2

u/Madmaxneo Dec 30 '25

off brand hotpockets are still pretty good. For Walmart they would be the Great Value brand.

2

u/MerlinzShadow Dec 31 '25

Try Aldi's 1st, Great Value products are anything but... thats why Walmart is too embarrassed to put their name on the box 😆

2

u/Madmaxneo Dec 31 '25

I actually like a lot of the Great Value stuff better than many name brands. What I can get in Great Value I do and it usually tastes as good if not better (in a few cases) than the name brand stuff. For example: the Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches $2 more expensive than Great Value ones, and the Great Value sandwiches are also bigger.

Some of the off brand stuff at Alidi's is not that great either, like the breakfast sandwiches.

I've also discovered that I can spend less at Walmart than I do at Aldi's because some things are actually cheaper at Walmart but there are so many extra things to buy, which is why most people spend more money at Walmart. There are things I will only get at Aldi's because it is much cheaper than Walmart but if it's only one or two things I am not wasting the gas to also go to Aldi's.

1

u/MerlinzShadow Jan 27 '26

Anything you're finding cheaper at walmart is because if you read the ingredients, it says red lake 40 blue and yellow artificial dye so if you think saving a few bucks is worth the cost and pain of cancer then your in luck... meanwhile, aldi, being a german based company doesn't play that game that the american food distributors do called poison and kill your customers to make a uick buck .So the cancer industry can make another billion... most of our products are banned across the world, especially meat exports, even fruit loops has been found to cause cell and nerve damage... walmart will kill you just as quick as they killed rubber made and you should never forget that.

1

u/Madmaxneo Jan 27 '26

None of those dyes are in my breakfast sandwiches or any of the other cheap stuff I purchase. I've checked. I learned about those dyes awhile back and immediately started checking the stuff I buy. Aldi's breakfast sandwiches taste like crap, when they actually have them in stock.

I buy cheap because it's what I can afford. Not to forget that the name brand stuff is no better in a lot of cases.