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Fast food customers are in a frenzy on social media platforms far and wide, with claims that the iconic McDonald’s Egg McMuffin breakfast sandwich has shrunk in size. While there’s no official confirmation from McDonald’s itself, users are sharing experiences of seemingly smaller McMuffins, a growing practice among fast food chains and various food brands, that’s been coined “shrinkflation” – the idea that companies reduce portion sizes while keeping prices the same.
This isn’t the first time McDonald’s has faced accusations of shrinkflation. In 2023, similar claims circulated about the Filet-O-Fish sandwich (AKA the McMinnow), which McDonald’s denied. The buzz has been a growing concern about value for money, particularly with rising food costs. In the past few months alone, there have been dozens upon dozens of social media posts, videos, threads, and groups, all pointing out the shrinkage. And it’s not just in the US, many customer in other countries have been noticing the same.
Portions Get Smaller, The Prices Get Higher
One poster even took a ruler to the McMuffin and measured out the diameter. But the latest accusation posted to the subreddit r/shrinkflation, was simply titled “What The Hell”…
It contained a picture of a sized medium coffee lid next to the offending McMuffin. And indeed, straightaway – you can see the breakfast sandwich is similarly sized as the lid. And even more telling, you can see it in the blue circle on the McMuffin Wrapper. The circle represents where the sandwich should sit when the employees are wrapping it up for an order. It’s noticeably smaller than the circle…when it should be the exact same size.
What Do The People Say?
“This has been common knowledge for some time. McDonald’s has the highest inflation of any fast food, and most substantial shrinkage. Why are you still buying from them?”
“They’ve been smaller than the circle design on the wrapping paper they come in. I don’t give McDonald’s my money anymore.”
“Who’s even keeping these businesses open at this point? Unless OP has enormous hands, that hash brown looks Dollhouse sized.”
And there’s scores of Reddit threads discussing the perceived McMuffin shrinkage as users point to seemingly smaller patties, less cheese, and a general feeling of less “heft” in the sandwich.
Arguably, there’s no concrete evidence to suggest McDonald’s has actually changed the McMuffin’s recipe or portion sizes.
And so far, McDonald’s hasn’t publicly addressed the McMuffin rumors. They did address the Filet-O-Fish controversy though, and it amounted to what you’d expect. Any and all denial that the Fish sandwich had shrunk over the years.
Is there another explanation?
Perhaps portion perception is at play. Our memory of food size can be subjective, and fluctuations in cooking or assembly could create the illusion of a smaller sandwich.
Without official confirmation, the McMuffin mystery remains just that but the online discussion proves there’s a growing consumer awareness of portion sizes and value, and discontent. It will be interesting to see if McDonald’s responds to the social media buzz, or if further evidence emerges to solidify the “shrinkflation” claims.
