One of the things in life that I'm really passionate about is keeping an eye out for the consumer. In the past, I have had many run-ins with major supermarket chains regarding the modus operandi of their shelf pricing and advertising, and I am pleased to say that in each instance, I have been proven correct in my assertion.
Nothing raises my hackles quicker than false advertising, whether it takes the form of meat packaged with the fat hidden underneath, or the bony side of the chop out of sight. And don't let me get started on pre-packed vegetables!
But today took the cake! At the meat counter of the largest retailer in SA, I was sorting through the lamb neck for the best cuts for the lamb curry I'm going to make. One of the packs was marked Free Range, but priced by hand and the others just had the store label. As usual, I checked thr kilo price and was pleasantly surprised to see that they were the same. Obviously a mistake, but I took it because I never point out underpricing - after all, they are supposed to be looking after the consumer. I glanced at the price of another pack, which couldn't have weighed more than 300g and was amazed to see that it was R231.46! I checked the name - lamb neck - then the kilo weight - 3kg! I hotfooted that back to the butchery department and asked that they relabel it before someone with a trolley worth R2 000 didn't notice. I was impressed that they came to me afterwards to thank me.
Consumers beware - this is a common mislabelling error, although perhaps not always on quite so impressive a scale. Always read your labels.
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