Label errors ‘could affect thousands’
Shopper warns people to check after he spots chicken mistake
ANew World customer is urging shoppers to check their chicken after discovering the expensive organic poultry he buys weekly is consistently under the weight on the label.
The fitness fanatic spends about $200 each week at New World on nine packets of free-range organic chicken thigh from Bostock Brothers, for his high-protein diet.
The man, who does not want to be named, has been buying the product for more than a year but started recording the weight discrepancy only a few months ago.
He found the product was often about 50g — or about 12.5 per cent — less than the weight printed on the New World Papakura produced label.
“I have a commercial scale at home and when I make my meals I weigh it raw and portion it out,” he said. “I take it all out of the packaging and weigh it net. If it is net on the packaging it should be net on the scales.”
The man contacted New World and Bostock Brothers.
“The issue isn’t with Bostock Brothers. I spoke to George Bostock and found they send the packaged chicken to New World and it’s up to New World to weigh and price each packet,” he said.
“It is more expensive but I only buy that brand because it is the best quality and there is no water in it.”
Foodstuffs, which owns New World and Pak’nSave, investigated and said staff at New World in Papakura had been weighing the product incorrectly.
The standard process for weighing fresh butchery and seafood products in-store allows for packaging and the weight of the liquid that comes out of the product when it settles — called drip-loss.
Foodstuffs said the Papakura store team had been weighing the product and not allowing for the weight of the packaging.
“We are very sorry about this. The process was immediately corrected,” New World said in a statement.
The New World Papakura team has received additional training on tare weighting and the appropriate processes.
“The team will be contacting customers who have bought Bostock chicken and who may have been impacted to make things right. The store also encourages affected customers to contact them directly.”
But the man said the issue could be much wider, with more customers and other pre-packaged products affected. “I told a few people and they did the same as me and the same issue came up at other New World stores and with other products throughout Auckland,” he said.
Ben Bostock from Bostock Brothers said the company was in contact with New World about the issue.
He confirmed Bostock Brothers organic free-range chicken had no specified weight on the label and it was up to stores to weigh and price the product.
Bostock Brothers provide New World with the weight of the packaging which is not to be included in the priced weight.
“We can’t really comment other than to say we are in contact with New World. We just want to say thank you to the customer for his loyalty,” Ben Bostock said.
“We are a small business and we turn 10 this year so we really appreciate loyal customers.”
Abby Damen from Consumer NZ said the watchdog received regular complaints about weight discrepancies at supermarkets.
“Under the Fair Trading Act, traders have to ensure any representations they make about the products they sell are accurate and not misleading. For example, a packet of chicken stating it’s 500 grams must be 500 grams,” she said.
Damen said that under the Weights and Measures Acts and Regulations, any goods bought by weight or measure must be sold by net weight or measure of the product only. “That means the weight of the packaging must be excluded.”
I spoke to George Bostock and found they send the packaged chicken to New World and it’s up to New World to weigh and price each packet. Customer