Recently, there has been a great hoo-ha about the accuracy of fresh food labels at supermarkets.
This came after 2 shoppers found that the weight stated on chicken and salmon labels were inaccurate.
Now, the supermarket chain is instituting more protocols, such as conducting daily checks on scales at all stores, to prevent such incidents.
Fresh products that have already been labelled will also have their weight rechecked to ensure accuracy.
The first incident, involving the mislabelling of the packet of chicken, occurred at NEX FairPrice Xtra.
Since then, FairPrice has engaged certified technicians to recertify all the store’s scales.
Additional protocols are also put in place: From now, all stores will have to conduct daily checks on scales before opening.
Labelled fresh products will also have their weight rechecked to ensure accuracy of the label, reported ST.
The weighing instruments at AMK Hub FairPrice Xtra, where the second incident took place, have also been inspected and verified by the Weights and Measures Office, reported Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
The office is now in contact with NTUC to determine the actual cause of the mislabelling.
According to ST, scales at all FairPrice outlets are calibrated by authorised vendors annually. They also undergo preventive maintenance twice a year.
Cold Storage and Giant supermarkets, under the DFI Retail group, also have their scales calibrated once a year.
Trained staff will carry out verification checks daily on its weighing scales to avoid errors.
DFI Retail group shared that the weighing and labelling processes are manual, and inevitably, there will be room for human error.
Nonetheless, they constantly remind staff and supplier partners to double-check before the products are displayed for sale.
The Weights and Measures Office, overseen by Enterprise Singapore, is committed to safeguarding the interests of consumers and businesses by ensuring a uniform and accurate system of weights and measures.
Every year, it conducts about 2,400 surveillance checks on businesses, including supermarkets.
Under the Weight and Measures Act, the accuracy of regulated weighing and measuring instruments used for trade must be verified annually by independent, authorised verifiers.
Businesses also must supply the number of goods accurately reflected on the product label.
According to ST, the office will take action against businesses that fail to meet these requirements, including selling short-weight goods.
The Weights and Measures Office stressed that they take a serious view of non-compliance with regulations. They will investigate public reports on infringements.
NTUC FairPrice’s weighing practices have been in the spotlight since a TikTok posted on 5 Feb showed a packet of chicken breast was inaccurately labelled and priced.
On 6 Feb, FairPrice apologised and said it was reaching out to the customer and investigating the cause of the “alleged mislabelling”.
Days later, a second TikTok video emerged showing a pack of salmon weighing 0.296kg. However, when weighed, it was only 0.176kg.
The supermarket chain explained that the discrepancy was likely due to human error.
According to The Straits Times (ST), FairPrice could not retrieve the product for further investigations but offered the customer a refund for her purchase.
The supermarket stressed that the error should not have occurred. They assured shoppers that they had reviewed and taken steps to tighten their labelling processes.
Due to the manual weighing and labelling processes, human errors might be bound to happen from time to time.
NTUC, Cold Storage, and Giant encourage customers who find labelling discrepancies to approach staff for help immediately.
For more tips on how to ensure you are getting what you’re paying for when buying weighted fresh products, you can refer to the Weights and Measurements Office website here.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Downtown East and @ninamonzolevska on TikTok.
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