Tesco shoppers are only just learning why some food products have cross symbol

tesco pumpkins
-Credit: (Image: PA)


Shoppers were baffled after spotting a cross symbol on food packaging – but even though many don't know its true meaning, there's actually an important reason behind it. A confused Tesco customer took to Reddit to share a picture of the small symbol that was display on a packet of pork cocktail sausages.

Their post, which asked: "Does anyone know what this symbol means?", sparked a lot of discussion on the viral platform. More than 650 people responded to the post. And while some offered amusing suggestions, others managed to get to the bottom of the matter.

One commenter jokingly wrote: "For comedy purposes, I'm going to assume it contains only pigs raised as Christians." Another sarcastically wrote: "It certifies that the pigs are dead. Added following customer complaints that their sausages were squealing when eaten."

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A third laughed: "It's a cross. Pray before you risk eating them." And a fourth added the bonkers suggestion: "The pigs only drank holy water."

As much as the bizarre theories amused the Redditor, they were probably grateful to get to the bottom of the matter. It turns out the cross or 'dagger' symbol is used in a similar way to asterisks.

A responder explained: "It’s a footnote. Look on the packaging (including reverse of pack and label) for the matching symbol which will include additional information about the item being footnotes, here the number 30. Perhaps it is an average number since the pack is based on weight and there may be enough variance to have one more or less?"

For this reason, some customers may get less than 30 cocktail sausages and other lucky shoppers could get more. It's a symbol used by other supermarkets too – so make sure to read the full packaging if you want to learn more.

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Want to read more about more supermarket secrets? Don't go anywhere because we've got you covered.

Previously, we revealed the cheapest places you can pick up your groceries. The study found that the four largest full-price supermarkets —Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Morrisons —were, on average, 17% more expensive than shopping in another spot.

Meanwhile, a warning was recently issued to customers buying bread. As it's a staple in many weekly shops, it's important information to know about.