NPM install removes/modifies empty keys from package.json (e.g., dependencies)

I think NPM released an update a few months ago that now causes the package.json to be modified when install script is run. I have several package.json files (one for each app under a collection of web apps). I depend on keys devDependencies and dependencies to automatically collect packages. I would like to keep them even if they are empty (e.g., dependencies: {}). But npm install removes them when they are empty. Any ideas on how to prevent that?

Here's a screenshot:

Edit: A workaround for now is to add a check in my Gulp scripts to make sure those keys exist. If they don't, I handle the process accordingly. But my original question stands. I hope NPM will add an option for this in a future release.