ALDI chip bag discovery disappoints customer: ‘We weren’t getting our money's worth’
- Replies 6
As the cost of living continues to rise, every cent counts.
It's no wonder that many of us flock to stores like ALDI, where the promise of savings can make a significant difference in our weekly budgets.
However, a recent incident involving an ALDI customer has raised eyebrows and left many feeling a sense of solidarity with her frustration.
ALDI customer Kelly Tranent was looking forward to enjoying the ALDI-branded Sprinters Chips, which cost $2.69 for a 230g packet.
But upon opening the bag, Kelly's anticipation turned to disappointment. The contents were noticeably lacking, with nearly half the chips missing.
‘My husband and I decided to check the weight of the chips because the bag seemed to have so much more air in it than usual,’ she said.
The Tranents, being prudent and curious, decided to weigh the bag.
‘As we opened it, more than 2/3 of the bag was just air, and looking at the chips at the bottom of the bag, we thought that there’s no way it was 230g worth,’ she said.
‘I weighed the bag with the chips in it, and it was 157g, and just the chips alone were 139g.’
The packet did bear the 'e' mark, indicating an estimated weight, but the difference was more than what one would reasonably expect.
The 'functional snack-fill' of nitrogen gas, meant to preserve freshness and taste, is one thing, but a nearly 100g shortfall is quite another.
But Kelly was ‘disappointed’ for being short-changed by the chips.
‘Being a single-income family and trying to make ends meet, we shop at ALDI to try and save a bit of money. We get chips only on occasion and thought the ALDI packets were bigger than Coles and Woolies ones and cost so much less,’ she said.
‘I felt we weren’t getting our money's worth at all if we were getting almost 100 grams less than anticipated.’
Kelly’s issue is not an isolated case.
Another ALDI customer shared her frustration over its potato chips when they also weighed 139g instead of 230g indicated in the packet.
Many expressed her revelation as a ‘deceptive practice’.
‘How is this okay at all?’ she asked online.
‘[We] try and save money by buying from ALDI and don't even get the amount on the packet.’
An ALDI spokesperson did not comment on Kelly’s experience, but they reassured customers that they could return products they were not satisfied with for a full refund or replacement.
Consumer expert Gary Mortimer said companies undergo rigorous weight checks that are supposed to be in place during the manufacturing process, but some things may be overlooked.
‘I suspect this is an isolated incident which would have taken place at the manufacturing stage and considering the volumes of potato chips that go through a factory, it’s not unreasonable to think that one or two packs might be considerably underweight,’ he said.
‘But these are often picked up at some point in the system because they do go over a weight plate, and the manufacturers' process has a lot of checks and balances in place.’
The 'e' mark, widely used in the European Union, Australia, and South Africa, is designed to protect consumers to ensure that the estimated weight is compliant with the Average Quantity System (AQS), as implemented by the Australian Department of Industry Science and Resources.
Products prepared under this system must adhere to a ‘tolerable deficiency’ level, and the estimated weight should fall within a specified range.
According to AQS guidelines, ‘no pre-packaged article can have a shortfall greater than 5 per cent of the stated quantity’.
‘Packers and importers have a duty to carry out sufficient checks to ensure that all batches of pre-packaged goods meet the legislative requirements for correct measurement,’ a National Measurement Institute spokesman said about the AQS.
Have you ever weighed your packaged goods to check for accuracy? Share them with us in the comments below!
It's no wonder that many of us flock to stores like ALDI, where the promise of savings can make a significant difference in our weekly budgets.
However, a recent incident involving an ALDI customer has raised eyebrows and left many feeling a sense of solidarity with her frustration.
ALDI customer Kelly Tranent was looking forward to enjoying the ALDI-branded Sprinters Chips, which cost $2.69 for a 230g packet.
But upon opening the bag, Kelly's anticipation turned to disappointment. The contents were noticeably lacking, with nearly half the chips missing.
Kelly and her husband noticed the contents of the ALDI sprinter chips were lacking. Credit: Shutterstock
‘My husband and I decided to check the weight of the chips because the bag seemed to have so much more air in it than usual,’ she said.
The Tranents, being prudent and curious, decided to weigh the bag.
‘As we opened it, more than 2/3 of the bag was just air, and looking at the chips at the bottom of the bag, we thought that there’s no way it was 230g worth,’ she said.
‘I weighed the bag with the chips in it, and it was 157g, and just the chips alone were 139g.’
The packet did bear the 'e' mark, indicating an estimated weight, but the difference was more than what one would reasonably expect.
The 'functional snack-fill' of nitrogen gas, meant to preserve freshness and taste, is one thing, but a nearly 100g shortfall is quite another.
But Kelly was ‘disappointed’ for being short-changed by the chips.
‘Being a single-income family and trying to make ends meet, we shop at ALDI to try and save a bit of money. We get chips only on occasion and thought the ALDI packets were bigger than Coles and Woolies ones and cost so much less,’ she said.
‘I felt we weren’t getting our money's worth at all if we were getting almost 100 grams less than anticipated.’
Kelly’s issue is not an isolated case.
Another ALDI customer shared her frustration over its potato chips when they also weighed 139g instead of 230g indicated in the packet.
Many expressed her revelation as a ‘deceptive practice’.
‘How is this okay at all?’ she asked online.
‘[We] try and save money by buying from ALDI and don't even get the amount on the packet.’
Kelly felt she was short-changed because the chips were 139g instead of 230g. Credit: Facebook
An ALDI spokesperson did not comment on Kelly’s experience, but they reassured customers that they could return products they were not satisfied with for a full refund or replacement.
Consumer expert Gary Mortimer said companies undergo rigorous weight checks that are supposed to be in place during the manufacturing process, but some things may be overlooked.
‘I suspect this is an isolated incident which would have taken place at the manufacturing stage and considering the volumes of potato chips that go through a factory, it’s not unreasonable to think that one or two packs might be considerably underweight,’ he said.
‘But these are often picked up at some point in the system because they do go over a weight plate, and the manufacturers' process has a lot of checks and balances in place.’
The 'e' mark, widely used in the European Union, Australia, and South Africa, is designed to protect consumers to ensure that the estimated weight is compliant with the Average Quantity System (AQS), as implemented by the Australian Department of Industry Science and Resources.
Products prepared under this system must adhere to a ‘tolerable deficiency’ level, and the estimated weight should fall within a specified range.
According to AQS guidelines, ‘no pre-packaged article can have a shortfall greater than 5 per cent of the stated quantity’.
‘Packers and importers have a duty to carry out sufficient checks to ensure that all batches of pre-packaged goods meet the legislative requirements for correct measurement,’ a National Measurement Institute spokesman said about the AQS.
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