Morrisons Feta Cheese

Catherine · Sun Jul 12, 2015 9:31 pm

Two weeks ago I purchase a packet of Morrisons Feta Cheese to make my courgette and feta fritters. For some reason I opened the cheese and put it on the scales it only weighed 173g. The packet said 200g. (We bought another packet this week and un opened it weighs 200g) So I sent Morrisons an email. I sent them all the information and received three emails telling me that they would look into it. I was also asked to send a picture or the packet and the use by date. I am sorry but I don't have that facility so I just gave them the use by date and any numbers shown on the packet. A week later I am still waiting to hear what they are planning to do. So we went to Aldi and bought their feta cheese and guess what they are also under weight.

Surely this is illegal. I bought a packet of walnuts from Morrisons a couple of years ago and found that the contents did not weigh what the packet said but didn't do anything about it. So has anyone else had this problem?

I think this secretly happens alot but no one notices as we think that the weight on the packet is the contents instead we are paying for the plastic packet, and, in the case of the feta cheese, the liquid as well.

PLUMPUDDING · Sun Jul 12, 2015 9:52 pm

I bought a litre tub of meal worms and that only contained 823 grams so I was obviously paying for the tub as well. I now buy them in a bag and pour them into the tub. I got no joy when I complained about this and it was obviously deliberate because it was an agricultural merchant who filled the tubs themselves.

I wonder what the law is on this? Should we assume that the weight on most products refers to the packaging as well or is this a new con by manufacturers.
I always thought it was the weight of the product.

retropants · Mon Jul 13, 2015 3:27 pm

as a hobby maker and seller of soaps and other such items, I and my fellow soapers have to stick very much to the law, and put 'min. net weight xxg' on the packaging, or use the 'e' symbol, which means the same. this must be the miniumum weight of the actual contents, not including the packaging. In short, this makes me so cross, as small producers like myself have to stick to the letter of the law to avoid presecution, however, the big boys seem to be able to get away with it. I ALWAYS make sure that my contents are way over the min, especially with soap, as it can continue to cure and dry in its wrap and lose more weight.

Catherine · Wed Jul 15, 2015 10:38 pm

I had a phone call from "Max" from Morrisons head office to ask me if I had the packet from my feta cheese complaint. I said yes, why, and he asked me for the information on the packet so he could "contact the supplier to see what they could do". I told him that I had already been in touch with their customer services and sent all the details to them about the information on the packet. He asked me for it again. I asked why was it that I had sent this information two weeks ago and now I was being asked for the same information. He said that it had just been sent to him and he was following it up. He couldn't explain but he would be in touch very soon. SO that means dont hold your breath.

I bought a packet of feta cheese from Aldi and that is even worse, 200 g on the packet but alot less fully packed on the scales. Not started that email yet : I think I might be starting a misson in life.

(I always make date and walnut cakes at Christmas for presents and found that the walnuts from Morrisons don't have the full weight in the packet.)

oldherbaceous · Thu Jul 16, 2015 6:50 am

Dear Catherine, i'm not sure if your packets had this on but, you sometimes read on the packets, "500 grams when packaged" or, "60 litres when packaged" i take it this sort of wording covers them for water loss or shrinkage.....

Catherine · Thu Jul 16, 2015 7:56 am

I checked this before I did anything and there is nothing on the packet to say drained/ undrained weight so this is why I am complaining.

oldherbaceous · Thu Jul 16, 2015 12:03 pm

Of course, Catherine, sorry.......

Westi · Thu Jul 16, 2015 8:38 pm

Thanks for the post Catherine!

I've always been suspicious of the weights on packaging especially as I tend to opportunistically shop so have different brands in the cupboard. Although I never weighed anything, but know from slices etc.

Whose ripping off who though? The retailer or the supplier?? (Obviously us).

Westi

Catherine · Thu Jul 16, 2015 10:02 pm

I thought I had posted a reply to OH and I have just seen that it isn't there. Don't know where it has gone. So I will put it on again. I am sorry OH but I just read your reply to my reply to you :shock:

and realised that I sound very frosty I am sorry I didn't mean to. I am looking after someone elses plot at the moment whilst they are on holiday and her tomatoes are looking sick. They don't come back till next Tuesday and I am frightened that I will lose all her tomatoes and I feel very stressed about it.

Catherine · Thu Jul 16, 2015 10:22 pm

Westi, I have become more irritated the more I have to shop in some supermarkets the one named above is top of the list. They price things differently sometimes showing price per kg next to something at price per 100g. I don't want to have to do a calculation everytime I want to see if something is a better price. (I wear reading glasses and hate having to get them out to look at the small labels) It was just by chance that I weighed the cheese. But what else do they short change us on and no one realises. Sorry I do sound very cross at the moment.

oldherbaceous · Fri Jul 17, 2015 6:50 am

Dear Catherine, certainly no need to say sorry as there was no offence taken. After i had posted my post, i did think to myself, "that it was stating the obvious".....

Looking after other peoples plants, still has me nervous, even after all these years of gardening. Infact, i have been watering 37 tubs and baskets for someone that has been away for 3 weeks and did panic the other week when it was so hot. But everything looks ok now and they are back today, so very relieved indeed.

Westi · Fri Jul 17, 2015 5:58 pm

No you don't sound cross Catherine. Like you say how much other stuff are we being ripped off on as well? Note however, if it is the number of crisps in a bag or size of a chocolate bar the whole nation knows about it. Hmm?

Westi

Catherine · Sun Aug 02, 2015 9:34 pm

Update. I received a £10 voucher from Morrisons as a "buy off" probably to keep quiet as to the discrepancy on the weight of the cheese. So today, three weeks after I complained, I purchased another pack of Morrisons feta cheese Unopened pack 193g and opened 183g cheese this time I think I will go further(having waited some three weeks to see if they are going to do something with their "supplier") I make a broad bean, feta cheese and tomato warm salad, so I buy feta on a regular basis in summer. Lets see what happens now. Oops I feel grumpy at the moment

Primrose · Mon Aug 03, 2015 11:04 am

Sounds like a call to your Council's Trading Standards department is now in order. I think companies should be given a chance to correct obvious mistakes, but sometimes the food and supplier chain is rather long and it can take a while for things to happen.

Having said that, having once worked for a food manufacturing company, I know that when there's a Health and Safety issue with a particular product, they are capable of moving VERY quickly.

Catherine · Mon Aug 03, 2015 7:03 pm

Hi Primrose. I think that is my next step as I purchased another packet of Feta for my warm broad bean, feta cheese and tomato salad. They only had their own brand on the shelf so I had no choice. Unpacked weight was 193g - opened and drained weight 183g so nothing so far has changed. This time I took a photo of the weight on the scales before opening and after.

Morrisons Feta Cheese

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