Yahoo News Shoppers fume after learning meaning of secret ‘e’ symbol on food product
Shoppers have been left fuming after discovering the meaning of a mysterious symbol on supermarket products. The ‘e’ symbol is featured on most items, but customers fear that it means they’re getting overcharged for what they’ve bought.
One woman made the discovery about the ‘e’ symbol after conducting her own experiment. She bought a bag of crisps from an Australian Aldi store which were meant to be 230g, but after weighing it she found that there were only 139g of crisps contained with the bag.
The disgruntled customer, from Canberra, Australia, shared her findings on Facebook, the Mirror reports. The mum posted a photo and wrote: "How is this okay at all? [We] try to save money by buying from Aldi, but we don't even get the amount on the packet!"
She explained: "More than two-thirds of the packet was air - hence why I decided to check it... I put the whole bag with chips in it on the scales first and it was 157g.” After weighing the crisps out of the packet, she was shocked to see they weighed 39g rather than 230g like what was advertised.
Many Facebook users were shocked there were so few crisps in the bag before one person pointed out that the 'e' on the bag indicates the volume or weight of the product is in fact an "average value".
According to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, the Average Quantity System (AQS) shouldn't have this much of a discrepancy. The website states: "The AQS is an internationally agreed method of determining the size or quantity of pre-packed articles with a 'constant nominal content'. This means it provides confirmation of the measurement or quantity of goods in the package, being sold by measure (weight, volume, length, area or number)."
It then states that "no pre-packaged article can have a shortfall greater than 5% of the stated quantity."
According to EU regulations, prepackaged (or prepacked) products sold in any EU country must provide information on the package specifying the nominal quantity (weight or volume) of their contents, as stated by the official European Union website. They explain that the 'e' mark "placed next to the nominal quantity, shows that you have complied with the relevant European laws".
Following Brexit the 'e' mark is no longer required on products in the UK, but is still used voluntarily.
The UK government says on their website: "The ‘e’ mark, when placed on a package, is a declaration by the packer that the contents comply with the average system. There is no requirement for packages to be labelled with the ‘e’ mark. The Regulations prohibit its use on packages that do not meet certain criteria.
"From 1 January 2021 the UK will continue to recognise the voluntary use of the ‘e’ mark to denote compliance with the average system of quantity control for packaged goods."
Aldi did not wish to comment when approached by the Manchester Evening News.
