Little-known detail shows how supermarkets get away with charging you more for less: ‘How is this okay?’

Shoppers have unleashed their fury after discovering a little-known detail on product packets – and hundreds are upset they aren’t getting what they paid for.

A Canberra woman revealed her shock after she weighed a 230g packet of Aldi potato chips only to find 139g of chips inside.

While many erupted in anger, one Australian pointed out the ‘e’ sign (EEC) on a food label indicates the volume or weight of the product is an average value.

‘How is this okay at all?’ the mum asked on Facebook. ‘[We] try and save money by  buying from Aldi and don’t even get the amount on the packet!

‘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.’

ALDI customers are encouraged to reach out to the help centre should they have feedback – and shoppers can return any product they are not satisfied with for a full refund or replacement. 

Packaging machines in the food industry are not precise; there will always be a margin of inaccuracy.

All major supermarkets audit their products regularly and use commercial scales to make sure their food complies with weight requirements.

Still, others were also not impressed with the claimed disparity in weight.

‘That isn’t an estimation though. Even Woolies mince has the ‘e’ and usually it’s minimal difference – but nearly 100g is massive!’ one said.

‘Not getting what you pay for is a joke and being so far off the “e” weight is just ridiculous,’ another wrote.

Other shoppers reported several products like butter and tomato paste also being underweight at various major stores.

A former Woolworths worker shared they used to regularly check product weights using scales.

‘You’d be surprised how often they’re out. In saying that, anything over 10 per cent was reported,’ they said.

Some came to the potato chips’ defence – claiming the ‘air’ inside the bags was necessary.

‘The empty space in your chip bag isn’t just air – it’s nitrogen gas which stops the chips from breaking in the package. It also expels air, which actually turns chips stale,’ one argued.

Another echoed, ‘The factory that produces this have scales at every stage of the process that are continually calibrated. Are you certain it’s the pack of chips that’s out? Maybe pop other items that are complete and compare accuracy.’