'Recession is good for your health' as sweets shrink

Manufacturers of confectionery have admitted many of the nation's favourite chocolate bars have shrunk in size as they attempt to cut back costs during the economic downturn.

The recent rise in VAT to 20 per cent allied with soaring costs for ingredients such as sugar and cocoa have forced some sweet makers to cut sizes by up to a fifth.

Cadbury is set to cut two chunks from 140g Dairy Milk bars, reducing them to 120g - but the price will stay 1. And US firm Kraft, which owns Cadbury, has struck a deal with Poundland to knock a 30g triangle off 200g Toblerone bars costing 1.

Malteser packs costing 1.48 have already dropped from 140g to 120g - a loss of around nine sweets from about 60.

Nestl has reduced the size of Yorkies from 68g to 64.5g but added 3p to the price, leaving the bars costing 52p. Other chocolate bars that have been "shrunk" in recent years include 49p Mars and Snickers bars. Both have dropped from 62.5g to 58g in the past two years.

A spokesman for watchdog Consumer Focus said: "Shrinking the size but not price of products could damage consumers' trust in the brands they love."

Angus Kennedy, editor of confectionary magazine Kennedy's Confection, said: "Companies, including Nestl and Cadbury, have reduced the size of some of their most popular brands to keep profits up."

Consumer groups have criticised the size reductions, saying the practice is misleading as many shoppers are not aware the snacks are smaller.

However, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter, said that cutting the size of confectionery bars was a step in the right direction and is an encouraging move for better health in the UK.