PITTSBURGH -- You've probably noticed you're paying more for groceries -- but while prices go up, the size of what you buy is shrinking.

Call 4 Action reporter Aaron Saykin said you might not notice product downsizing unless you read the fine print on labels and containers.

"It is a practice, from the consumer point of view, that is deceptive, almost sometimes bordering on unethical, but it is totally legal," said Mary Bach, a consumer advocate for AARP.

Bach, of Murrysville, has kept tabs on the sizes of packages for decades. In recent months, she said she noticed groceries shrinking faster than ever.

As an example, she showed Call 4 Action two dish detergent bottles from the same company. The bottle used to hold 19 ounces, but now it's 16 ounces -- for the same price.

She also compared two boxes of tissues and noticed that the count has shrunk from 175 to 150.

Ice cream containers went from holding a half-gallon to 1.5 quarts -- about 25 percent less.

(Watch Bach's demonstration by clicking the video link in the box on the top right side of this story page.)

"They've been hit hard. It's trickled down to the customer, so everybody is paying," said Julia Merante, of Merante Groceria in Oakland.

Much of it is a careful effort by food makers to avoid raising their prices as they face higher costs for grain and shipping.

"I'm sure there are a lot of people that are not upset about it, but I think that consumers need to be alert to the issue and we need to know what to watch for," said Bach.

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