Supermarket lying

[Mycatisalwaysangry]

I used two packs of mince beef yesterday and they both had less beef than what stated on the packaging. I thought it was because I froze it.

Today I was weighing my food and it’s absolutely clear that what’s written on the
package is not what’s inside it.

Has it ever happened to you? I feel very betrayed as a customer.

Is your scales accurate?

An 'e' after the weight on packaging indicates that the weight is an average, not an exact weight.

Scale is accurate.
that’s fair enough about the ‘e’, but if feels more of a conscious choice on the part of the producer no? I’d understand 96 or 94, but 90 is too round a number in my opinion.

The clue is on the packaging. It's the E that comes after the weight. It is there to cover +/- in weight to within certain tolerances which may differ with different foods. To be fair mince should be easy to accurately portion but chicken breast less so, (skill and accuracy of trimmer)

I mean, if we are talking about 100, 90 is nowhere near that.

Would you not say that smoked salmon thinly sliced should also be easy to package?

I mean, I count calories so when I open a toon of tuna or a can of beans they are never accurate to the single digit, but this seems taking the piss.

https://www.pid-labelling.co.uk/what-does-the-e-symbol-actually-represent/

It suggests that yours is out but can I ask how you know your scales are accurate? I’d suggest it’s probably a combination of the two things together.

Have your scales been calibrated?

According to this, the 90g on a 100g pack is outside the acceptable margin which is given a 4-5g.

There's a certain amount that it is allowed to vary by, I can't remember the percentage, maybe 10%? I did complain once when a 500g pack of mince at Aldi was under 400g though.

Silver lining if your counting calories is that you're eating less calories than anticipated!

Yes. I said that too. But I suspect unless OP’s scales are properly calibrated then it’s likely a combination of the two things.

Absolutely! That's the only thing that made me happy! :)

Because most of the other items I weigh are the weigh stated on the tin. Some might change by 2-3 grams but that's it. I just weigh the contents of a packet of ham and it is what the packaging says it is.
The scales are fine.

the e stands for 'estimate'

there are rules by how much it can differ from the weight on the pack.

I weigh food like veg that's priced by the bag or unit in the supermarket.

Did you weigh the meat after taking it out of the packaging. Sometimes the packaging is included in the over all weight. Which is still misleading

Very interesting, I will start doing that too

Yes I have. Adding the packaging to the overall weight is cheeky! However that was frozen before (defrosted when I used it) so that could have messed with the weight, though given today's weight it might not have.

I appreciate your comments. I am sure that the scales are fine. I understand the + - thing, but I still think it's not on. It's like saying here are 2 pounds but I put down 1.90. I am going to write to the supermarket and complain.

I expect the voucher for 10g of smoked salmon will weigh more than the discrepancy.

I'd imagine that would be more difficult not to have a difference with though as the product would have to be cut in bits to get the weight exact?

You've also got to bear in mind that any food that contains liquid will lose some of that during storage/transportation, so that will account for some loss of weight. There might also be a thing about net/gross weight as in wrapped chocolates.

@crazeecatlady , not if it is sealed

I weighed something at the till, went to pay and realised they didn't take cards
Went to another till, weighed it again and it was a penny more