Suffolk trading standards take on the supermarkets
Thursday, 25th February 2010.
Stores like Sainsbury's and Tesco have been accused of charging almost double the price in their own brands for similar products to their 'value' ranges.
The major supermarkets' own brand products are generally no better than their much cheaper 'value' alternatives, according to an investigation by Suffolk County Council trading standards department.
They found an equivalent shop of standard products cost around twice as much as value items, for no real additional benefit in taste or nutrition.
The investigation covered the 'big four' of Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons.
Trading standards officers took samples of value and standard products purchased from the big four supermarkets and sent them away for nutritional analysis.
The results reveal that spending more doesn’t always mean you get a better quality item.
Clare Davies, senior trading standards officer, said; “Our investigation has shown that, in general, when in comes to buying meat products you should invest a little of your money in the more expensive product as the quality of the item you will purchase will be of a better quality.
"However, when it comes to buying basic ingredients such as cheese, flour and apple juice, there is hardly any difference in the nutritional content and therefore, if that’s what’s important to you, you might as well buy the cheaper version and save yourself some money.”
The two products which stood out from the investigation were the cheese purchased from Morrisons and the apple juice purchased from Tesco.
The results from the nutrition analysis on the standard product and the value product were almost identical and any difference could be put down to natural variations in the ingredients. Trading standards said it could be argued these two items were the same product packaged in a different way.
When it came to the pricing, on average, consumers were spending twice the price to buy the standard product on offer rather than the value range.
A basket of standard products purchased by trading standards officers cost £21.72. For the same products bought from the value range, the cost was only £11.22.
Clare Davies said: “When you compare the price of the products we bought from the supermarkets our basket of standard products was almost double that of the value ones, however the results from our nutritional analysis shows that you’re not getting double the quality for your money.
"Our advice to consumers is to read the information contained on the labels to see what’s in the product and make sure you’re getting the best value.”
Following a blind taste test on the products in the investigation it was often found that participants either preferred the value range or couldn’t tell the difference.
When testing the apple juice purchased from Tesco, 78 per cent of participants couldn’t tell the difference. When testing the cheese from Morrisons, 83 per cent preferred the value product or couldn’t tell the difference between the two.
Interestingly, 83 per cent of participants preferred the value cheese and bacon quiche purchased from Tesco or could not tell the difference. Also, 83 pert cent of the panel preferred the value chocolate spread on offer at Morrisons or could not tell the difference between the two.
Clare Davies said: “We’ve found that with the majority of the products we’ve tested there is very little difference between the value range and the standard range once the packaging is removed.
"Although some of the products may look a little different, nutritionally, the values are very similar and the taste test proves that people generally can’t tell the difference. We would therefore advise consumers to save their money and buy the cheaper product when out doing their weekly shop.”
Cllr Rae Leighton, Suffolk County Council’s portfolio holder for public protection, said: “The findings from Suffolk trading standards’ investigation will mean a great deal to consumers.
"In these times of economic uncertainty the general public is still concerned about every penny they spend. These revelations show that the big four supermarkets are generally charging double the price for a very similar product with almost the same nutritional profile.”
“Consumers should now feel empowered to buy the cheaper item knowing that the products they buy are not a poorer quality version.”
The major supermarkets' own brand products are generally no better than their much cheaper 'value' alternatives, according to an investigation by Suffolk County Council trading standards department.
They found an equivalent shop of standard products cost around twice as much as value items, for no real additional benefit in taste or nutrition.
The investigation covered the 'big four' of Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons.
Trading standards officers took samples of value and standard products purchased from the big four supermarkets and sent them away for nutritional analysis.
The results reveal that spending more doesn’t always mean you get a better quality item.
Clare Davies, senior trading standards officer, said; “Our investigation has shown that, in general, when in comes to buying meat products you should invest a little of your money in the more expensive product as the quality of the item you will purchase will be of a better quality.
"However, when it comes to buying basic ingredients such as cheese, flour and apple juice, there is hardly any difference in the nutritional content and therefore, if that’s what’s important to you, you might as well buy the cheaper version and save yourself some money.”
The two products which stood out from the investigation were the cheese purchased from Morrisons and the apple juice purchased from Tesco.
The results from the nutrition analysis on the standard product and the value product were almost identical and any difference could be put down to natural variations in the ingredients. Trading standards said it could be argued these two items were the same product packaged in a different way.
When it came to the pricing, on average, consumers were spending twice the price to buy the standard product on offer rather than the value range.
A basket of standard products purchased by trading standards officers cost £21.72. For the same products bought from the value range, the cost was only £11.22.
Clare Davies said: “When you compare the price of the products we bought from the supermarkets our basket of standard products was almost double that of the value ones, however the results from our nutritional analysis shows that you’re not getting double the quality for your money.
"Our advice to consumers is to read the information contained on the labels to see what’s in the product and make sure you’re getting the best value.”
Following a blind taste test on the products in the investigation it was often found that participants either preferred the value range or couldn’t tell the difference.
When testing the apple juice purchased from Tesco, 78 per cent of participants couldn’t tell the difference. When testing the cheese from Morrisons, 83 per cent preferred the value product or couldn’t tell the difference between the two.
Interestingly, 83 per cent of participants preferred the value cheese and bacon quiche purchased from Tesco or could not tell the difference. Also, 83 pert cent of the panel preferred the value chocolate spread on offer at Morrisons or could not tell the difference between the two.
Clare Davies said: “We’ve found that with the majority of the products we’ve tested there is very little difference between the value range and the standard range once the packaging is removed.
"Although some of the products may look a little different, nutritionally, the values are very similar and the taste test proves that people generally can’t tell the difference. We would therefore advise consumers to save their money and buy the cheaper product when out doing their weekly shop.”
Cllr Rae Leighton, Suffolk County Council’s portfolio holder for public protection, said: “The findings from Suffolk trading standards’ investigation will mean a great deal to consumers.
"In these times of economic uncertainty the general public is still concerned about every penny they spend. These revelations show that the big four supermarkets are generally charging double the price for a very similar product with almost the same nutritional profile.”
“Consumers should now feel empowered to buy the cheaper item knowing that the products they buy are not a poorer quality version.”
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