As a kid in the 1970s, I remember when new labelling laws came into effect. Among other things, all canned goods started displaying “Net Weight” or “drained weight” in the front of their labels. (Before that, they simply said “16 oz” or whatever.) I recall that the labeled weight of several products (in Atlanta stores, anyway) changed significantly, suggesting that they’d been playing fast and loose.
A few weeks ago, I noticed that a can of “store brand” lima beans had an asterisk next to the “Net wt” and after some hunting, I found that this 15.5 oz “net wt.” can only contained 9.75 oz of lima beans. I was extremely disappointed, partly because this (smaller local) chain usually sold a better quality of goods than most of the chains in our area, and partly because they were the only ones who consistently stocked “full cans” of lima beans, a family favorite, and did so at a reasonable price. “Oh well, I guess I know why they were so cheap now” I thought, and resolved to write a stern letter to the chain.
However, the following week, while making a three-bean salad (something I haven’t done in many years), I noticed that the proportions seemed off. I drained and weighed the green beans (from a “Big Three” national brand, with no asterisk or drained weight indicated on the label) and the 14.5 oz can only contained 8 oz. (By contrast, the asterisked store brand contained 9.75 oz) The undrained can was definitely visibly less full of beans than I recall, too.
What the heck? I’d always taken “Net weight” to mean “drained weight”, because, face it, none of us are really turning to Del Monte or Green Giant for canned water. If “net wt.” now means “product plus water” then what is “gross weight”? Product plus water plus can?
Is it possible the law changed? Did some lawyer successfully argue that “net wt.” wasn’t subject to the laws regulating the words “net weight”? (I’ve seen crazier things – and this now-ubiquitous abbreviation doesn’t save a single cent in printing and square millimeters of label real estate are hardly at a premium)
Fortunately, I prefer fresh or frozen, and only use a few canned vegetables, for specific purposes, but I still feel scammed. The big national brands are the worst offenders. There is NO way to tell how much product you’re actually getting. That store brand that so disappointed me was actually doing me a favor with its asterisk (and also put 10-20% more vegetables in its cans). I’ve noticed that less famous or local brands are more likely to have “drained weight” on the label.
Did I miss something that can savvy-shoppers have known for years? I’d noticed that canned veggies were far less popular in local stores in recent years. In many stores, they’ve gone gtom having a full aisle, to one side of an aisle, to maybe 20ft in one corner of an aisle – with a fairly small choice of veggies (e.g. when you discount the “veggie mixes” and varieties of beans, they really only stock around a dozen different “actual vegetables” in cans anymore (including the tomatoes, which get more space than the rest of the vegetables combined, but excluding the specialty/ethnic aisle – which I think is a real advance in the supermarket industry)
