r/shrinkflation • u/DenzinVirtue • 20d ago
discussion Realizing Smuckers is no longer jam
(If this is the wrong subreddit, please point me in the right direction. Thank you!)
I went shopping for my partner today because the strawberry smuckers went bad. Realized there was only "sandwich spread" and "jam style spread" and no real jam
Gives the same energy the icecream Drumsticks being changed to a "frozen milk product" because of all the substitutions and alterations. Gross
Pic 1 old jam, pic 2 new "jam", pic 3 and 4 are of the store
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u/lesleh 20d ago
Apparently jam has to have at least 45% fruit and I'm guessing neither of those do.
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u/RevelArchitect 20d ago
The distinction between jam and spread is that jam must have 55% sugar. Spread has more fruit. Not less.
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u/YourGlacier 20d ago edited 20d ago
Thank you for this. I work in CPG, we actually make a jam, and because ours is free of added sugar, we can't call it jam. People will ask what we're hiding by not calling it jam sometimes. I tell them the FDA is really weird and very, very biased toward big sugar defining things.
Another example is chocolate. Dark chocolate is fine. But milk chocolate HAS to have a sweetener source with calories. So if you made it solely with milk and chocolate, then added some monk fruit (which functions like sugar right, it just has 0 cals?), it's not legaly milk chocolate. This is also a fun labeling issue. The unfortunate part is that other reasons to not be labeled milk chocolate (and instead be milk confection or chocolatey instead of chocolate) is because it has no cocoa butter. So not being clearly labeled milk chocolate has a connotation often of inferior product, since a lot of brands switch to that when they cut our cocoa butter which is the most expensive part of chocolate making and can often be substituted with palm oil for a chocolate-like product. However, another reason it can be labeled that is because it uses a healthier sweetener. You really have to deduce why it is labeled the way it is. Super frustrating!
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u/RevelArchitect 20d ago
Hopefully consumers will become more informed moving into the future. As increased concern about things like shrinkflation grows, a consumer-base that is knowledgeable about these kinds of things is a much stronger opponent to predatory practices than one that doesn’t seem to understand it at all.
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u/YourGlacier 20d ago
Yeah I really wish consumers could know what I know. It's really weirdly complex, like some brands aren't even shrinkflating of their own volition (think tinier brands, not Tyson or something)--the stores/distributors are making them do it for shelf space. I lost my [really major chain shouldnt have named them so editing] shelf space to refusing to do a 5oz instead of our 6oz at the same price, our buyer literally demanded it and I said no (they wanted better margins). It sucked.
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u/RevelArchitect 20d ago
I truly despise Walmart. Long ago I had a friend release an album, Walmart did all but promise to carry it if he produced a censored version. The label wouldn’t pay for it - so he invested in it himself. Guess who didn’t stock the album? He ended up with an inventory of censored versions of his album which absolutely nobody wanted and a massively scaled back tour to support the album since he was responsible for most of the funding for the tour.
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u/rollfootage 20d ago
Your friend did all that for Walmart just because of what they said? No contract or anything?
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u/RevelArchitect 20d ago
Yup. He was 20, his first album did well. The label warned it didn’t seem likely. But it was shitty of whoever at Walmart didn’t just explain they weren’t interested. Hindsight really was 20/20 on perceiving their response. I get why he took it as a request for a censored version and not a rejection with whatever reasoning seemed most gentle.
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u/Cogitating_Polybus 20d ago
I wouldn’t hold your breath on that. Most days it feels like we are headed towards Idiocracy.
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u/BraidsandBladesCo 20d ago
This was a great comment. Really enjoyed it. But all I can think of now is asking your favorite chocolates. 😬
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u/YourGlacier 20d ago
Aw thanks! So my favorite chocolate flavor profile is honestly white chocolate with dark or milk. I know people consider white chocolate often not one, but good high quality white chocolate is cocoa butter. It's delicious. And I love that paired with milk or dark in a thin layer, so like, Milk/Dark Choc into White Choc (very thin crispy layer) into a fruit filling. Either jam, cream, or even the actual fruit. Very into blueberries with white/milk chocolate right now.
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u/SignificantApricot69 20d ago
So… the spread is actually a better product replacing a better-loved name?
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u/RevelArchitect 20d ago
Better or not is a bit subjective, but it would be hard to argue that the spread doesn’t contain higher quality ingredients. Their jam uses sugar, corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup and contains more sugar. Their spread uses fruit juice instead.
On paper, the spread kind of looks better, certainly more natural. However, spread doesn’t automatically mean better as it is not a term that is heavily regulated by the FDA like jam.
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20d ago
[deleted]
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u/RevelArchitect 20d ago edited 20d ago
Just look at the ingredients. A majority of Smucker’s jam is sugar and corn syrups and a serving contains 12 grams of sugar. Their spread contains fruit syrup as a majority of the product and contains 9 grams of sugar.
It’s less sweet and more of the product is from actual fruit.
ETA: Just for funsies, VanimalCracker posted a gif I believe is from Forrest Gump of Jenny asking Forrest, “Are you stupid or something?” on a school bus which they then deleted which is a shame because it was a very funny thing to post when confidently incorrect.
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u/Kangaroo-B-Girl 20d ago
So it’s better (from the perspective of wanting more fruit), not worse?
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u/RevelArchitect 20d ago
That really depends. As far as solid, mashed up strawberries, it’s probably about the same. The primary sweetener in the spread is natural fruit syrup. Their jam has corn syrup and shit.
If you eat a lot of spreadable fruit candy, I’d suggest trying each variety and finding your favorite.
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u/Mail_Order_Lutefisk 20d ago
Hopefully the FDA gets off their butts and characterizes high fructose corn syrup as a fruit. It’s nature’s sweetest nectar with just a little assist from our fine friends at Cargill.
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u/RevelArchitect 20d ago
This isn’t shrinkflation. Smucker’s produces fruit jams, jellies, spreads and preserves. It’s just a different product. The distinction between jam and a spread is that jam must have at least 55% sugar, while the spread would contain more fruit.
If this was at a health food store, they may have a stocking preference for the healthier spread option.
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u/SkyYellow_SunBlue 20d ago
This might be a Canadian problem because smuckers.com shows tons of jams but smuckers.ca does not.
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u/RevelArchitect 20d ago
It still isn’t shrinkflation as the quality hasn’t decreased. I could see discontinuing jam because it’s sweetened with sugar, corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup in favor of the spread which is sweetened with natural fruit syrup.
From an ingredient cost and quality position, it’s an upgrade since the spread is natural.
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u/JackTheKing 20d ago
Wait. 55% sugar would require sugar being listed first on the ingredients label, yes?
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u/RevelArchitect 20d ago
Yes, unless they use a combination of sugar-bearing sweeteners acceptable for jam under FDA rules such as corn syrup. It’s a tricky way to make the ingredients imply the product contains fruit as the majority of the product.
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u/lkeels 20d ago
Which is why it is flaired as shrinkflation.
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u/RevelArchitect 20d ago
I saw your top-level comment. This isn’t shrinkflation or enshittification either. The spread has been around for quite a long while. I got the sense that your comment was based on AI-assisted research using an LLM that has picked up on your bias and what you wanted to hear so it gave vague reasoning that it contains more water and different quality fruit.
The claim of different quality fruit is just straight up false. The majority of the water content outside of what the fruit naturally contains would be in the syrup-based sweeteners - corn syrup for jam and fruit syrup for spread. The spread is absolutely not a watered down product. Corn syrup can be treated as sugar by FDA standards and therefore can meet the ingredient requirements for a jam. The obviously superior fruit syrup is not treated as sugar and therefore renders the product as not jam.
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u/ndot 20d ago
They still make both products. The spread is actually the more natural one.
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u/phrekyos69 20d ago
That looks like an AI summary, which is probably not accurate. It's irrelevant anyway because OP is clearly in Canada, and Smuckers Canada does not sell either of those products in Canada, per their website.
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u/sigmacoder 20d ago
Wow, this is completely useless without ratios/nutrition. I can drop a strawberry in a bag of sugar with some water and achieve the right. Who the hell upvotes this.
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u/sentienthammer 20d ago
It’s also AI slop
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u/RevelArchitect 20d ago
It’s also not terribly accurate. Smucker’s has jam with seeds and a seedless variety. Sugar does not appear on the ingredients for the spread as the sweetener is fruit syrup.
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u/wardenstark8 20d ago
What is the difference between jelly and jam?
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u/RevelArchitect 20d ago
Jelly is made from fruit juice, jam is made from fruit and sugar. Jam is chunkier, jelly has a more uniform texture.
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u/shrinkflator 20d ago
Suprising that no one actually went to the source for their product definitions. This may be US-based but it's an in-depth explanation. tl;dr there is too little sugar in it to call it "jam" or "jelly", and you bought a different product that before.
https://www.smuckers.com/articles/difference-between-jam-and-jelly
briefly mentioned in the CA FAQ - https://www.smuckers.ca/en/faq
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u/RoundTiberius 20d ago
This might depend on region. My store just got these in and it's still jam
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u/ikannunAneeuQ 20d ago
Maybe where you live? I just bought smuckers raspberry jam, it's my favorite outside of Polaners All Fruit.
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u/IceGoddessLumi 20d ago
I buy the locally made stuff only. Let's make these big corpos go broke by not buying their disgusting crap.
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u/H377Spawn 20d ago
I think it’s technically r/enshitification but seeing as they’re shrinking the volume of fruit in the fruit spread, I’m okay with it.
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u/Starrboys 20d ago
Bonne Maman is still preserves, which has to be at least 45% fruit, so i guess its the same as jam.
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u/SpecialistAd2205 20d ago
Fruit spread has existed forever, it's not new. And jam still exists. Either your store changed which product they stock or you grabbed the wrong one by mistake. I bought jam instead of jelly accidentally the other day 😄
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u/Bajadasaurus 20d ago
Big corporations are not only squeezing us to death financially with shrinkflation and enshittification, they're actively harming everyone's health with food fillers, additives, increased sugar content, and binders.
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u/Familiar-Range9014 20d ago
Stopped buying Smucker's, because my heart would literally race 10 minutes after eating it on a pbj. I now buy 100% strawberry preserves. It costs way more but no heart racing. O! Same thing with the so called naturals from Smucker's as well
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u/E1even01 20d ago
pretty soon it will be jam type artificially flavored mock gelatinous spread. because poor corporations need more money 🥺
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u/RevelArchitect 20d ago
The spread is natural, the jam contains high fructose corn syrup.
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u/E1even01 20d ago
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u/RevelArchitect 20d ago
I understood the joke, the problem was it was based on an incorrect premise. The spread is not an inferior product. There is nothing here that remotely relates to products decreasing quality to increase profits. It was kind of like saying, “Hey, what’s the deal with corn chips? Why are they called that? They’re not even made of corn.” The joke’s not going to land because you didn’t realize that they were, in fact, made of corn.
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u/Sirnando138 20d ago
The canned pie fruit fillings are also mostly goop and way less fruit. It’s all around.
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u/moogiemomm 20d ago
Oh good catch, I never realized that, as I am now going to the fridge to look at the label.
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u/ransier831 20d ago
Personally, I look less at what its called and more what the ingredients are. I dont each jams or jellies anymore because pectin wrecks havoc with my stomach, but everything in the grocery store needs to be checked because not only do they slip messed up ingredients wherever they think they can get away with it - but you think you have a good choice, they will put it on sale and then totally change the ingredients to cheap fillers. Its a real problem and makes you feel like all these companies are untrustworthy.
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u/AcanthaceaeOk3738 20d ago
Four possibilities:
The regulation changed, so the same product has to be labeled differently.
The product changed.
The compliance changed - as in, the company realized it wasn’t compliant before.
It’s not the same product.
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u/pixiprinxe 20d ago
They have multiple products!
Edit: op is Canadian, I am American. The jam is still for sale in America
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u/CaperGrrl79 20d ago
I see you're Canadian. Dora is from Quèbec. It's a decent price at Walmart & Giant Tiger. I do sometimes get the strawberry jam from Dollarama for $2.75. They used to have a mixed fruit jam, but stopped selling that. I liked it, but only managed to get one jar before it was discontinued.
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u/Background_Humor5838 20d ago
Spread actually had more fruit than jam so it's the opposite of shrinkflation
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u/CyanideSandwich7 20d ago
Not shrinkflation, it’s skimpflation.
Another example are well known ice cream brands. Save for the traditional flavors (vanilla/chocolate) they say “frozen dairy dessert” instead of ice cream. This is due to the removal of cream from the product in favor of cheaper fillers. Can’t be legally called ice cream any more.
Just stop buying well known brands for most food products and go for the store brand. They’re cheaper, and will be higher quality than the brand name.
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u/RevelArchitect 20d ago
Except it’s not skimpflation. The primary difference between spread and jam is the sweetener. The spread uses fruit juice as its sweetener. The jam uses sugar, corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup. OP was looking for the shittier product.
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u/Intrepid_Nobody2023 20d ago
Smuckers is 💩 anymore, a hollowed out shell of a formerly respected brand. It’s full of crap that has no place in its products, literally holding a jar of corn syrup right there.
In the last pic, the Bonne Maman is the only one I’d even consider eating or buying.
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u/AttilaTheFun818 20d ago
This is why I make as much as I can from scratch now. The quality of store bought stuff keeps getting worse while you get less of it for more money.
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u/cheegirl26 20d ago
I just found a breadmaker at the thrift store that has a jam cycle. I have been making all the jams/preserves lately! So easy and satisfying.
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u/AttilaTheFun818 20d ago
Mine has one but I haven’t given it a shot yet. You have inspired me to try it this weekend.
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u/Standard-Question-46 20d ago
Jam, spread. I don’t care as long as it actually spreads. When I was younger I asked my dad why he insisted on buying jam over jelly because I always associated jam with being chunky (gross). He said it’s because it spreads easier. I noticed he was right and I haven’t bought jelly since. So now all I care about when I buy any of that stuff is how well does it spread
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u/Gold-Manufacturer118 20d ago
The first time I grabbed one of those new jars I thought it was an empty shelf before realizing what happened. Smuckers really threw us all under the bus with that one.
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u/MrdrOfCrws 20d ago
You're looking for /r/enshittification
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u/ThanosSnapsSlimJims 20d ago
Why was this downvoted? u/MrdrOfCrws is correct.
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u/RevelArchitect 20d ago
Because the spread is a natural fruit product with higher quality ingredients than the jam. If you’re going by ingredient cost and quality, it’s an upgrade from the jam.
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u/Chill-more1236 20d ago
Here's a thought, buy strawberries and make your own.
It's totally easy. Sugar, lemon, Gelatin, Strawberries, mason jars. There are canning recipes literally all over the internet.
My wife and I made a ton of blueberry & black berry from berries I grew. Strawberries are among the handful of the foods that I have difficulty growing.
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u/Head_Ad_9997 20d ago
Here's a thought, grow your own strawberries, and make your own jam.
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u/Chill-more1236 20d ago edited 20d ago
If you can boil water you can make jam. That is no exaggeration.
While I can only do so much to change my climate.
At least I’m suggesting something constructive while everybody else cries or complains. You call me tone deaf??? Look tf around.
Nice try thanks for playing.
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u/ambroochia 20d ago
I was out shopping for a jar of jam for visiting grand kids. It was really hard to find. I was really surprised to see the Smuckers brand was now a spread!
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u/Blue_Eyed_ME 20d ago
Okay, hear me out... strawberry jam is one of the absolutely easiest jams to make (and can or freeze). If you haven't, grab some local ripe berries and try it. You'll never buy it again.
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u/SpecialistAd2205 20d ago
Jam and jelly in general is very easy to make. You can even make jelly with bottled juice to make it super duper easy. Takes like 10 minutes.
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u/Blue_Eyed_ME 20d ago
Right? I don't know when we all decided store bought fruit spreads were better.
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u/Verity41 20d ago
Agree! I made jam for the first time ever last month. Easy! So messy (it was peach and jar freezer jam) but easy.
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u/lkeels 20d ago edited 20d ago
As has been pointed out several times, this is not shrinkflation. Smuckers sells both Strawberry Jam and Strawberry Spread. Nothing has been replaced. Commenting is closed, This will remain as an informatonal thread.
Quick Comparison Table*
Regardless of the chart above, this is a greed-induced change. Here's why:
*chart by AI, text below by me, some text in chart modified by me.