Why do canned goods come in such an obscure number like 14.5 ounces instead just a solid 16oz (1lb.)

Question

Might just be me, but imo I find it weird that canned goods come in 14.5 ounces instead of an even 16 ounces. Since that would just be a well rounded number and would be 1lb it just seems more rounded to me.

In: 4100

Answer 1

They used to be 16oz. If you look at older recipes, you’ll see them call for 16oz cans of ingredients. Slightly newer recipes call for 15oz cans and even newer ones call for 14.5oz cans. Manufacturers are shrinking the cans instead of raising prices because people would clearly rather buy less than pay more.