To think that Supermarkets try and 'cheat' their shoppers with false 'offers'

[Mrsdavidcaruso]

I went into one of the big supermarkets today (not sure if I am allowed to name them).

I actually needed dishwasher liquid tabs so was interested in a large display at the end of an aisle 'offering' a pack of 51 tabs for 14 quid. Now there was no RRP ..... or special offer sign but the way they were displayed looked like it was some sort of deal.

However when I went to the aisle where all the dishwasher stuff is kept I saw the same brand in smaller packets of 32 1/2 price at £6.00.

Of course I bought two packs thus getting 64 tabs for £12.00 but if I hadn't checked I may have been tempted to buy the £14 pack in the mistaken belief I was getting a 'good price'.

I wonder how many people were taken in

Legislation can work if it is worded carefully. But I think the big supermarket chains have far too many expensive lawyers making sure that the wording is just vague enough to give them the loopholes they need.

But if society decided something is a big enough problem - like food waste - then the 'free market' doesn't completely stop the government from introducing legislation.

Up here, you can't do "2 for 1" deals on alcohol any more, because it encouraged irresponsible drinking habits.

If we collectively decided that the amount of food wasted in deals on salads and crisps was actually something we really cared about, then the same could be applied to other kinds of produce.

Tins of chickpeas in the 'ethnic foods' aisle are very much cheaper than the ones in the beans and pulses aisle, but it's difficult to compare because they're far away from each other.

This is where online shopping comes into it's own. You type in 'chickpeas' and there they all are.

It is the same with herbs and spices. There are much larger bags and jars of them in the ethnic food aisle, but not everything available online.

In ours the "ethnic" sunflower oil is six feet from the naice safe European sunflower oil. 40p/L difference.

The traffic lights system is all very well, but under sugar-free fizzy pop scores all green, and an obviously nutritious food like cheese scores one or two reds.

'Low sugar' is often packed with flavour enhancers/salt/aspartame etc, or can have more sugar than the normal version, so I ignore these. It's just a marketing ploy and I'd rather have a little more sugar then a load of chemical additives. It's the same with 'low fat'. I'd rather eat butter then margerine. I think the 'low' encourages people to eat/drink more of that product so it defeats the object. I avoid the supermarkets where I can.

Those "ethnic" East End chickpeas are bigger & juicier than the usual Tesco ones as well

Yes, the cheaper chickpeas are much better than the expensive ones!