Has M&S food quality dropped?

[Thewiseoneincognito]

This is a weird one but I’ve started to notice over the last couple of months the taste and quality of Marks and Spencer’s food items has really lowered a lot. Has any one else?

I’ve had a few of their ready meals recently with huge chunks of chewy beef in that clearly hasn’t been cut properly, sounds ok but it just looks gross and is usually big boobs of fatty gristle. I found a large sharp piece of flint in a mushroom dish, a piece of blue plastic film in one of their soups. Their sandwiches seem to have stale bread despite being well before the end date. Usually I can let the odd thing slide and put it down to once in a blue moon but it seems to be a regular occurrence.

Before anyone says shop elsewhere, it’s my local food hall, the alternative is a tiny Tesco or Sainsbury’s, great if you need snacks or milk but not exactly the type of store to do a food shop.

M&S has always been a better standard of prepared food compared to others but now I’m doubting they’re any different than regular supermarket offerings. The range of foods seems to have been cut too like they’re no longer bothering to innovate, just churning out the same old but with lower quality control.

I think standards have fallen with all supermarkets. Trying to save money I suppose.

@chalktheblockwithglitterchalk I think different supermarkets will have different strategies. Unfortunately, for the next year or so, people will have less money to spend due to recession and job security and one of the first thing that people cut are food costs.

The UK spends less on food as a proportion of their income than virtually every country on earth, only the US spend less.

Food quality will probably go down. I wish people would think carefully about where they shop for food and the health implications of processed food

Sorry to be on my soap box but it isn't talked about enough

Can’t believe M&S are lowering prices and quality in order to up the footfall. You’d have thought they’d learnt from their clothing strategy over the years that that strategy leads only to disaster.
Waitrose must be laughing their socks off.

[quote Pipsquiggle]@chalktheblockwithglitterchalk I think different supermarkets will have different strategies. Unfortunately, for the next year or so, people will have less money to spend due to recession and job security and one of the first thing that people cut are food costs.

The UK spends less on food as a proportion of their income than virtually every country on earth, only the US spend less.

Food quality will probably go down. I wish people would think carefully about where they shop for food and the health implications of processed food

Sorry to be on my soap box but it isn't talked about enough[/quote]
I agree; we now only buy meat, poultry etc. from the local farm shops. We are lucky to have two excellent ones within a short drive. The meat etc is more expensive but so tasty. Chicken breasts in particular are succulent and don’t dry out during cooking. Unfortunately there is nowhere for fresh fish so I buy frozen after watching a tv documentary on the subject. Supermarket fish can be days old and still marked ‘fresh’; better to by frozen as it is often frozen within hours or even minutes of being caught.

I use Ocado and they changed partner from Waitrose to M&S last autumn. I'm not at all impressed by M&S.

I love the Ocado app. and service. All the Ocado shoppers were excited when news broke of them supplying M&S instead of Waitrose.

A complete disaster! The M&S products are abysmal. If you look at the Ocado app. most M&S food items are rated three stars and under.

I don't know what the Ocado/M&S sub-standard strategy is but it doesn't work!

I am happy now with Waitrose so that's where I'm staying.
They also offer a few JL products which you can add to your delivery too.

Yes I believe the quality is lower.
I shop with M&S every week with Ocado and we noticed that the food is not as nice as before.
The ready meals are so not good as they used to be.
I prefer ready meals from Sainsbury’s actually now as much tastier.
I actually prefer Sainsbury’s all over M&S.

*@TheBlessedCheesemaker

"Waitrose must be laughing their socks off"* And how!!

Yes never thought I’d say this but Sainsbury’s is far nicer than M and S these days.

As someone said M&S sandwiches are rubbish!
Also I can spot now which chicken will be better by looking closely at how much sinew is in them

Funny I went to M&S today. I bought a birthday and walked straight back out and went next door tomAldi. I could not beleive gow expensive M&S has got. No wonder I only buy yellow stickers from there.

I am sad to read this thread. Mark and Spencers is outside my 5km limit and I have been dreaming of treating myself in the foodhall when restrictions lift.

I never have luck with supermarket packed chicken breast. They seem to be off despite being in date. Thigh and wings I have never had a problem with.

Was in there today for the first time in ages - I used to get lured in by the Dine In option, but that is now more expensive, they've dropped the wine, and the options are booooring. Bought chicken today and now am nervous about eating it....

Yes I would agree, we shopped in M&S food hall near us recently, the ultimate steak pie tasted really odd, not nice at all, DH was feeling too well the next day. The Aldi steak pie was far superior in quality & taste.

@earthyfire @UniversalAunt

Chickpea flour and pea fibre are everywhere now. I don't know much about GF but it seems to be linked to replacing beadcrumbs in an attempt to make a product GF as I've noticed it in more and more sausages, chicken products, hash browns, stuffing, burgers (meat and chicken) and even some chips. I also suspect it might be cheaper? But the taste is so unpleasant. We sat down to eat something we've always eaten when I commented to my DH that this product must be off (can't remember what it was now) then he started getting a reaction so I checked the packaging which had a new sign stating it was GF and there in the ingredients was pea fibre.

Sainsurys seem the only supermarket who haven't fully succumbed but it's definitely going that way among the branded products. I was surprised to see it in M&S and meant we couldn't buy most of the Christmas range which might have been a blessing as the ones we did have were such a disappointment.

The M&S bakery is really good but products aren't stocked consistently so it's pot luck whenever you pop in there.

I had off rank prawns in a little cocktail pot last year come to think of it. Three days before the use by but they were claggy to the touch and absolutely stank. I was refunded without quibble by just contacting them on Facebook messenger but...that was my lunch and I didn’t have time to get more and it was just gross!! And I wasn’t expecting it from M&S.

YES - I've really noticed this recently and had a mind to start my own thread on it. In my opinion the drop in standards happened about 2 months ago. The things I noticed - all at once - were:

• The plain cooked chicken that they always did as a half, a quarter or a breast is now so watery you now have to squeeze it out before eating it, and it tastes bland. Before it was the only genuinely plump and juicy chicken I had found without being pumped full of antibiotics and water;

• The Balanced for You meals (which were always balanced to contain large amounts of protein) have now had the protein (most expensive) amount slashed, and are now branded as Eat Well, for the same price. The recipes have changed to cheaper options too; eg the previously delicious BFY seafood linguine now is noticably watery and of much lower quality.

• The recipes have changed - the previously lovely roast lamb dinner now has watery thin mint stock on it instead of gravy. The fish pie has a bland sauce and only tiny grey scraps of fish.

I stopped shopping there about a month ago for this reason. It's a shame!

I'm another one that prefers Sainsburys and Aldi now.

It used to be a treat, not now.

Rubbish like the clothes.

I think over the last three years Tesco’s has gone right down hill. Chicken is all gristle, the bread goes mouldy before the date and I have stopped buying the ready made neat things as too disgusting. I thought I was being fussy with this-glad to know I am not alone.

@DenisetheMenace

Always thought it was hugely overrated anyway.

Yes, I'd agree with that.

@randomer I think that's the point. They want to be more normal and get people to shop there all the time

[quote Pipsquiggle]@chalktheblockwithglitterchalk I think different supermarkets will have different strategies. Unfortunately, for the next year or so, people will have less money to spend due to recession and job security and one of the first thing that people cut are food costs.

The UK spends less on food as a proportion of their income than virtually every country on earth, only the US spend less.

Food quality will probably go down. I wish people would think carefully about where they shop for food and the health implications of processed food

Sorry to be on my soap box but it isn't talked about enough[/quote]
I've found M&S food to be ok but tend to buy the meat and raw ingredients.

Haven't been for a month but would rather pay slightly more to keep the quality

@RustyParker @UniversalAunt @earthyfire

I’ve also noticed the creep of fibre and chickpea flour. Been gluten free now for nearly ten years and low FODMAP for about six years.

In that time there have been massive changes in gluten free products. At first there was very little and then there was a huge explosion in the range of products available.

At first this was god as more was available, but as the supermarkets twigged this was a real growth area with a healthy profit margin as people were prepared to pay a premium, the quality has just plummeted..

There is more and more reliance on gum and fibres ans all kinds of outlandish substances to try to recreate gluten containing products cheaply and as “faithfully” as possible. So many ingredients in gluten free stuff now are ultra-processed goobledegook, very long ingredients lists too.

A restaurant we used to go in Madrid on holidaydid wonderful gluten free baguette. They part baked them to order in a separate oven in their own paper bag to prevent cross contamination. And the ingredients listed on the bag were “rice flour, cornflour, water, yeast”. That’s it. So it is possible.

The legume flours are I think an attempt to boost protein in gluten free foods because what etc are higher in protein than other grains. It’s such a shame because it makes gluten free products totally unsuitable for many people.

[quote Pipsquiggle]@chalktheblockwithglitterchalk I think different supermarkets will have different strategies. Unfortunately, for the next year or so, people will have less money to spend due to recession and job security and one of the first thing that people cut are food costs.

The UK spends less on food as a proportion of their income than virtually every country on earth, only the US spend less.

Food quality will probably go down. I wish people would think carefully about where they shop for food and the health implications of processed food

Sorry to be on my soap box but it isn't talked about enough[/quote]
I’ve seen this argument repeated many times, usually at the beginning of poncy cookbooks. All it means is UK consumers spend a higher percentage of their income on other bills, most notably housing. People aren’t spending less on food as lifestyle choice. It’s a necessity, or haven’t you been following the news about food poverty the increasing reliance on food banks?

@JovialNickname

YES - I've really noticed this recently and had a mind to start my own thread on it. In my opinion the drop in standards happened about 2 months ago. The things I noticed - all at once - were:

• The plain cooked chicken that they always did as a half, a quarter or a breast is now so watery you now have to squeeze it out before eating it, and it tastes bland. Before it was the only genuinely plump and juicy chicken I had found without being pumped full of antibiotics and water;

• The Balanced for You meals (which were always balanced to contain large amounts of protein) have now had the protein (most expensive) amount slashed, and are now branded as Eat Well, for the same price. The recipes have changed to cheaper options too; eg the previously delicious BFY seafood linguine now is noticably watery and of much lower quality.

• The recipes have changed - the previously lovely roast lamb dinner now has watery thin mint stock on it instead of gravy. The fish pie has a bland sauce and only tiny grey scraps of fish.

I stopped shopping there about a month ago for this reason. It's a shame!

Recipes definitely seem to have been tweaked- or suppliers changed that’s for sure. I had their Best ever prawn cocktail sandwich a month or so ago and the whole thing tasted as though I was eating the bottom of the sea- not a nice tropical ocean delicacy but more Blackpool sea. Horrendous. Lettuce was slimy too, eugh, horrid.