Loblaw says packaging mistakes happen “very rarely” following recent allegations that a customer’s bag of frozen produce weighed significantly less than advertised.
Last week, Vancouver-based Loblaw shopper Jacob MacLellan (@jmaclellan) posted a TikTok video claiming a frozen bag of vegetables he purchased from the supermarket labelled as weighing 750 grams actually weighed 434 grams.
@jmaclellan Loblaws, count your days @CBC @Globalnews.ca #shrinkflation #canada #inflation ♬ original sound – jacob
Days later, Loblaw SVP Marketing Mary MacIsaac, shared a LinkedIn post addressing the issue of “weight control.”
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“I’ve seen social media posts and stories that have made me realize how little is known in some areas about producers’ and manufacturers’ unwavering commitment to rigorous food quality,” MacIsaac wrote.
“Every product we launch goes through several steps from development …until they end up on our shelves- to ensure we have the best quality & accurate packaging weights,” her LinkedIn post continued.
According to MacIsaac, the chance of a packaging mistake occurring is less than one in 10 million.
“We know mistakes can happen…so when they do we take immediate steps to make it right and to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” she wrote.
The grocery chain told Now Toronto in an email statement on Tuesday that mistakes of this nature, though unlikely, can occur for a number of reasons.
“They can be caused by human error, equipment issues or a different root cause. We have very thorough quality control processes in place with our vendors and manufacturers to monitor, assess, and verify products are accurate before sale. That said, if a customer isn’t satisfied, they can always return a product for a full refund at the store of purchase or contact our customer care team,” A Loblaw spokesperson said in the statement.
Evidence of wrongly labeled produce comes amid an ongoing, nationwide boycott of the grocery giant in protest of its exorbitant prices.
Organizers, who mobilized the boycott on the growing Loblaws is out of control subreddit, are strongly encouraging boycotters to continue avoiding the store despite initial plans to bypass it only for the month of May.
Loblaw did not respond to questions on the impact of the boycott.
