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The Commerce Department acted after a long-running probe into pricing practices for the product that goes into everything from spaghetti Bolognese to mac and cheese.

But the grocery aisle tells another story: boxed mac and cheese stacked high, Hamburger Helper flying off shelves.

Towers of onion rings stacked high, bone-in rib-eyes, bubbling pots of lobster mac and cheese, fries and meats drowning in au poivre.

Items like single-serve mac and cheese cups, ramen packs, granola bars, oatmeal, fruit snacks, pretzels, cheese and crackers, clementines and protein bars are great alternatives — or additions — to the traditional candy bowl.

Nervous shoppers are stocking up on canned fish, boxed mac and cheese and beans.