# Have you ever complained about packaged food weights before? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 22, 2015, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318 "2015-02-22T04:23:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318/1 "2015-02-22T04:23:58Z")
Hmmm. Not sure what forum to put this in. I bought some Schneider’s Hot Wings today. I cooked half of them, which was 6 of 12. That didn’t seem right to me so I weighed the remaining 6 wings (randomly chosen) and they weighed 190 grams. That means my 790 gram box of wings was only about 380 grams. I tried sending a complaint on their website but at the final click nothing happens. It goes nowhere. I tried calling and they don’t have a message service. I’m going to call on Monday when they’re open. I’m also going to ask the butcher to weigh a few boxes tomorrow. Hmmmmm… ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318/2 "2015-02-22T05:12:32Z")
Here I was about to tell you that the best way, IME, to get results is to post it right on their facebook page, but I see you already did that. Looking at other posts, I see lots of other complaints about problems with their website, problems with one of their products suddenly changing (and them denying it) and lots of people complaining about product weights. Though that may be the difference between net (just wings/main product) and gross (wings and sauce). So you’re not the only one. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318/3 "2015-02-22T05:16:00Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Here I was about to tell you that the best way, IME, to get results is to post it right on their facebook page, but I see you already did that. Facebook page? Not me. Did someone else complain too? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318/4 "2015-02-22T05:22:05Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Facebook page? > > Not me. > > Did someone else complain too? Yeah, sorry, I just realized it wasn’t you, but here’s the post, made just a few days ago. > [@](#): > > Call me stupid for not checking the actual weight of a product but I recently bought a box of Schneiders Chicken Wings (790 g) and when I just opened the box it was half empty. You fooled me once but I will never buy this product again whether I like the product or not. I am sick of big business treating us like idiots [Here’s](https://www.facebook.com/Schneiders) the FB page. Click on “posts to page” on the left side and look at all the complaints. They seem to be a lousy company to deal with. OTOH, if they’re just a regular foodservice-y type company, like Jimmy Deans, that’s all you’re really going to see on their page since most people only comment when they’re unhappy. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318/5 "2015-02-22T06:15:50Z")
Bring your complaint, and that Facebook page, to the attention of the store manager where you bought the product. If it’s a chain store, maybe you can work your complaint up the echelons. They might want to reconsider carrying this product. Mention it to your Department of Weights and Measures, or whoever deals with that up in your part of the world. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318/6 "2015-02-22T06:31:43Z")
Oh, I’m following through with this big time, Hang on to your pantaloons. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318/7 "2015-02-22T11:48:28Z")
I really ought to go to the supermarket before posting this, but that could be several days, so here goes… [Truvia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truvia) is an artificial sweetener which is sold in boxes of 40, 80, and 140 packets (among others), each of which supposedly has the sweetness of one teaspoon of sugar. One of the following is true, based on the labeling on the box:[ul][li]In the 40-count box, the packets are 3.0 grams each, and in the 80- and 140-count, they are 3.5 grams each.[/li][\*]In the 140-count box, the packets are 3.0 grams each, and in the 40- and 80-count, they are 3.5 grams each.[/ul]My apologies for forgetting which of the three differed from the others, but in contrast to the OP, I did no weighing of my own. This information is from their own packaging. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318/8 "2015-02-22T15:49:19Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Yeah, sorry, I just realized it wasn’t you, but here’s the post, made just a few days ago. > [Here’s](https://www.facebook.com/Schneiders) the FB page. Click on “posts to page” on the left side and look at all the complaints. They seem to be a lousy company to deal with. OTOH, if they’re just a regular foodservice-y type company, like Jimmy Deans, that’s all you’re really going to see on their page since most people only comment when they’re unhappy. Well, holy shit. Yes. Someone else posted the same complaint. “The box was half empty.” I’m going back to the store today. Stay tuned. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318/9 "2015-02-22T16:08:51Z")
I will. I’m real curious how this plays out and bookmarked the thread. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318/10 "2015-02-22T17:15:00Z")
I don’t know about this specific product, but I’ve seen factually accurate but thoroughly misleading labeling on other packaged food that consists of multiple separate parts in a kit form. The last one that surprised me was an appetizer consisting of a pre-cooked frozen shrimp ring with a tub of cocktail sauce in the center. It’s in a form-fitting plastic tray with a clear plastic dome on top. In great big letters on the front it says “16 oz.” On the back in little teeny gray letters on grayer background below the nutrition box and ingredient list it says “includes 10 oz. cocktail sauce.” Leaving the would-be buyer to do the subtraction and discover they’re buying 6 oz. of cocktail shrimp for $9.95. Bastards. They \*almost \*caught me. The cheapo bagged flash-frozen chicken wings or “tenders” coated in vast amounts of frost are another scam. They take 1 lb. of chicken, coat it 2 pounds of frost and sell it as 3lbs net weight “including some water necessary for processing”. The price per pound looks pretty good until you factor out all the water. But since you can’t see through the opaque bag, you won’t know this until you get it home, defrost & drain them & discover the actual price per pound was about 3x what you thought it was. Fool me once … ---
**Author:** ![jacobsta811](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jacobsta811/32/2893_2.png) [@jacobsta811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobsta811)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318/11 "2015-02-22T18:20:48Z")
[quote=“Keeve, post:7, topic:713318”] … [Truvia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truvia) is an artificial sweetener which is sold in boxes of 40, 80, and 140 packets (among others), each of which supposedly has the sweetness of one teaspoon of sugar. One of the following is true, based on the labeling on the box:[ul][li]In the 40-count box, the packets are 3.0 grams each, and in the 80- and 140-count, they are 3.5 grams each.[/li][li]In the 140-count box, the packets are 3.0 grams each, and in the 40- and 80-count, they are 3.5 grams each.[/ul]…[/li][/QUOTE] They don’t necessarily need to be lying on this one - most artificial sweeteners are so sweet that a huge, huge % of the weight and volume is dextrose and other fillers, and not the artificial sweetener. So the packets could be different weights and still both have the same amount of artificial sweetener, ie “active ingredient”. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318/12 "2015-02-22T23:37:18Z")
I went back to the store today. I took 3 or 4 boxes and weighed them. They all seemed to be up to snuff. Looks like I got an unlucky box. I didn’t follow through with a complaint. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318/13 "2015-02-23T00:12:47Z")
> [@jacobsta811](#): > > They don’t necessarily need to be lying on this one - most artificial sweeteners are so sweet that a huge, huge % of the weight and volume is dextrose and other fillers, and not the artificial sweetener. So the packets could be different weights and still both have the same amount of artificial sweetener, ie “active ingredient”. That’s possible, but it seems quite unlikely. Can you imagine having two totally separate mixing and packaging processes for packets to keep the sweetness content the same, but with different amounts of filler. And then make sure that the smaller ones go in one type of box, but the bigger ones go in another? That would be madness. ---
**Author:** ![keturah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e95f7d/32.png) [@keturah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keturah)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318/14 "2015-02-23T02:23:14Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I don’t know about this specific product, but I’ve seen factually accurate but thoroughly misleading labeling on other packaged food that consists of multiple separate parts in a kit form. > > The last one that surprised me was an appetizer consisting of a pre-cooked frozen shrimp ring with a tub of cocktail sauce in the center. It’s in a form-fitting plastic tray with a clear plastic dome on top. In great big letters on the front it says “16 oz.” On the back in little teeny gray letters on grayer background below the nutrition box and ingredient list it says “includes 10 oz. cocktail sauce.” > > Leaving the would-be buyer to do the subtraction and discover they’re buying 6 oz. of cocktail shrimp for $9.95. > > Bastards. They \*almost \*caught me. > The cheapo bagged flash-frozen chicken wings or “tenders” coated in vast amounts of frost are another scam. They take 1 lb. of chicken, coat it 2 pounds of frost and sell it as 3lbs net weight “including some water necessary for processing”. The price per pound looks pretty good until you factor out all the water. But since you can’t see through the opaque bag, you won’t know this until you get it home, defrost & drain them & discover the actual price per pound was about 3x what you thought it was. > > Fool me once … These products are glazed in water to protect them from freezer burn. US regulations require that the net weight of the product prior to glazing meets the weight statement on the bag. Not to say that all companies are honest about weights, but the vast majority are. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318/15 "2015-02-23T02:43:33Z")
> [@keturah](#): > > These products are glazed in water to protect them from freezer burn. US regulations require that the net weight of the product prior to glazing meets the weight statement on the bag. Not to say that all companies are honest about weights, but the vast majority are. Thanks for the info. I’ll have to investigate this further with the grocer. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318/16 "2015-02-23T15:39:48Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I went back to the store today. I took 3 or 4 boxes and weighed them. They all seemed to be up to snuff. Looks like I got an unlucky box. > > I didn’t follow through with a complaint. I think I still would complain. Clearly you aren’t alone so ---------------- ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318/17 "2015-02-24T21:15:19Z")
Did the package have a sauce packet in in? All of the frozen wings around here are sold by weight, with the substantial sauce packet included in the weight. You’re weighing unopened packages in the store (with the sauce packet), and weighing just the wings at home. Mystery solved, everyone can release their pantaloons. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318/18 "2015-02-25T14:55:42Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I went back to the store today. I took 3 or 4 boxes and weighed them. They all seemed to be up to snuff. Looks like I got an unlucky box. > > I didn’t follow through with a complaint. Does this mean I can release my pantaloons now? ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318/19 "2015-02-25T15:11:33Z")
I used to work for a large food company, and I analyzed a metric butt-ton of consumer complaint data. Our company had a phone number listed on every package that you could call with questions or complaints. They took complaints very seriously. I think that they would send coupons out to disgruntled consumers to try to make up for any issues. Curiously, only about 10% of calls to the phone line were complaints. A lot of questions on product usage, product availability in their area, and even compliments. If the person complained about a foreign material in their product, we would have someone go to their home to pick it up to investigate. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-complained-about-packaged-food-weights-before/713318/20 "2015-02-26T09:59:41Z")
Some years ago, I was a supermarket and there was an elderly woman weighing prepackaged meat on the fruit weighing machine and I thought “What a cheap skate”. She saw me and said that a lot of times the meat weighed light. So I did the same and it was totally correct. So I started weighing the rest of the meat I had bought and two people looked at me and one said to the other “What a cheap skate”. Bah.