MP’s beef with Tesco over packaging ‘con’
TESCO has been accused of ‘cynical’ packaging after it used a labelling trick to make a pack of beef appear twice the size.
James Cleverly, Tory MP for Braintree, bought what he thought was a single joint of short ribs. However when he took the label off, he was shocked to find a gap between two small pieces of meat.
He tweeted Tesco to say: ‘Hey @Tesco I think this packaging is a bit cynical. If there is a good reason for that big gap I’m happy to hear it.’ He included images of the pack before and after the label had been removed. A Tesco spokesman defended its approach, insisting that the price and weight of its products were always clearly labelled.
He added: ‘With this product, due to the thickness of the ribs, there needs to be a gap between each piece to ensure that a proper seal occurs to guarantee freshness and quality.’
In January, the Mail revealed how supermarkets used oversize packaging to mislead shoppers.
Products included salmon fillets, packs of fresh cod, steaks and sushi. Marks & Spencer has previously been criticised for selling plastic packs of sliced cauliflower as ‘cauliflower steak’.