(Bloomberg) -- Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and General Mills are under the scrutiny of Senate Democrat Elizabeth Warren and Representative Madeleine Dean, who are accusing the companies of profiteering off consumers through shrinkflation.
Warren and Dean, in separate letters addressed to the chief executive officer of each company, criticized their practice of boosting profits through methods such as reducing the size of products including soda or cereal.
“Unfortunately, this price gouging is a widespread problem, with corporate profits driving over half of inflation,” the lawmakers wrote in their letters to the CEOs.
The lawmakers asked Coca-Cola and PepsiCo to provide the average annual price per ounce of their soda products from 2018 to 2024, and General Mills has been asked for the annual price per ounce of cereal products for the same timeframe.
PepsiCo declined to comment. Coca-Cola and General Mills did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
--With assistance from Deena Shanker.
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