A Woolworths customer has warned other supermarket shoppers after discovering a problem with her one kilogram packet of minced beef.
The frustrated customer claims his package of meat weighs significantly less than the advertised amount, and the pictures show the noticeable difference – and they’re not the only ones.
Sharing photos on Facebook this week, the shopper showed off the contents of the package on a scale at home. Instead of the promised kilogram of meat, the total weight is a worrying 496 grams, that is, more than 50 percent less.
“Weigh your meat,” the customer wrote on a budgeting Facebook page. “This is normal?” they asked.
“I called Woolies and they told me to come and replace it.”
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This is not the first time supermarkets have come under fire from customers for misleading meat weight labels. Coles and Woolworths have experienced the wrath of customers who complained that their packaged meat was a different weight than stated on the label.
Previously, a Woolworths customer discovered her one-kilogram mince actually weighed 868 grams. The ground beef the woman had purchased weighed 132 grams, or 13 percent, less than the label indicated.
Meanwhile, an eagle-eyed Coles shopper closed the supermarket after buying what she thought was 800g of mince, only to discover it weighed more than 25 per cent less.
Woolworths addresses shopper’s complaint about minced meat
Woolworths told Yahoo News Australia it is aware of the latest customer complaint and said it is “looking into it” with its meat suppliers.
“We want our customers to shop with confidence that they are getting what they pay for,” a spokesperson said. “If our customers are ever concerned about the weight of a product, we encourage them to return it for a refund.”
Customers Furious Over Common Meat Complaint
Other shoppers were shocked by the claim, with some labeling it “nonsense” and “very wrong.”
“Wow, I’ve never checked my meat weight, but now I will,” one wrote. “That’s not at all acceptable to Woolworths,” said another.
Some suggested this was a labeling error and claimed the difference was too large. When asked by Yahoo if this was possible, Woolworths declined to comment.
Some buyers pointed out the little “e” that appears after the weight. In Australia, the “e” indicates that products have been packed in accordance with the Average Quantity System (AQS), a National Measurement Institute spokesperson previously told Yahoo News Australia.
It means there is some leniency regarding how much a product might differ from the estimated weight on the packaging.
Testing the real weight of minced meat from the supermarket
Following several customer complaints in recent years, Yahoo News Australia tested whether customers were getting what they paid for. The investigation found that all the mince Yahoo analyzed (from Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and IGA) was actually overweight.
A Coles spokesperson previously told Yahoo that instruments used to measure household brand products are regularly tested to ensure accuracy. “Home scales are not manufactured to commercial standards and are generally not regularly tested for accuracy,” they said.
Woolworths products are regularly audited and also checked to meet net weight requirements.
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