Shoppers Noticed This Italian Pasta Sauce Has Gone Downhill: 'This Is Now On The Do Not Buy List For Our Household'

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Classico pasta sauces have been a staple of at-home Italian recipes for decades, whether shoppers pick up a jar of Cabernet Marinara with Herbs or Creamy Alfredo. Maybe you're the kind of person who doesn't really think twice at the grocery store and simply picks the jar of pasta sauce at eye level, or the cheapest one, and takes home Classico without even realizing it. It might be worth your time to start paying attention to which jar of pasta sauce you pick up, because shoppers are speaking out about their disappointment in the once-beloved brand.

"This is now on the do not buy list for our household," said one unhappy shopper on Reddit, referring to the declining quality of Classico's Fire-Roasted Tomato & Garlic sauce. "When [Classico] first came out, it was amazing," another customer pointed out, continuing that "four or five years after, [its] sauce tasted like garbage." Many frustrated fans noted that the newer jars of Classico were ruining the same meals they've been making for years, such as this Redditor who shared that they "just opened a jar of [their] beloved Classico Tomato Basil sauce" only to discover that it was suddenly "beyond terrible." Given that we also ranked Classico pasta sauce fairly low on our list of 15 popular pasta sauce brands, we're not entirely surprised to find social media users saying that the brand is "no longer award-winning."

One of shoppers' biggest complaints is that the brand shrunk packaging and quantity, but increased the price – something known as shrinkflation (which has been happening for longer than you might think). "I buy the Classico brand pasta sauce because I always reuse the jars and lids," said one Redditor, comparing an older jar with a new one, but found that "the new jar (left) has a totally redesigned, smaller mouth and lid!" Classico mason jars should be reused for canning, anyway. Another shopper put two versions of the Fire-Roasted Tomato & Garlic sauce side-by-side only to discover that the older jar was 650 milliliters, but the new jar was 600 milliliters.

Another big complaint is that Classico's recipe allegedly contains more water than before. One Redditor compared an old jar of Classico's Italian Sausage sauce with a new jar and found that while the older jar listed tomato puree as the first ingredient, the newer jar names water first. "For those that don't know, ingredients are required to be listed in order of amount," said a different user who also noticed the watery consistency, finishing that this "means there is now more water than any other single item in this product." Another disgruntled Reddit user flat-out said that "the new sauce is thinner, less red, and has no tomato chunks...you can see how different they look." While Classico might win some favor for nostalgia, it certainly isn't winning any points for quality, according to the fans.