What's happening to M&S food?

over_flo

I don't know if it's just me , but I've recently been very disappointed with the quality of M&S food.
I got some of the £5 off £25 spend vouchers and thought I'd go upmarket and shop there while I have them.
I made a lasagne with the frozen mince I bought and it was the worse quality mince I have used in a very long time.
Very fatty with lots of gristle - even bone bits in it and an unpleasant flavour - yuk!
The winter vegetable soup was very bland and the muffins were mediocre - whatever happened to those lovely carrot and orange ones they used to do?

I used to regard M&S as a shop with dependable quality but not any more.

chesky369

I'm really careful about what I buy from M&S. I'm a regular customer and I've noticed that either the size has changed - items that have gotten smaller recently, or the quality is not always what it used to be - the garlic sausage used to be 85p and is now £1 and definitely not as good. The offers are also not so wonderful - things like the deli '3 for' whatever are completely less than they once were. I still think they're pretty good for lots of things but you have to be really aware of what you're buying. I date the change from when the new CEO took over - I think he used to be at Morrisons so not surprised that he's dumbing down in terms of quality.

roses

I agree too, the food isn't as good as it used to be.

tinker15

I also agree that the food is not the quality and taste that it used to be so I no longer shop there on a regular basis, just pop in for their chicken & Ham Kiev's. I always buy my mince & burgers from the local butcher & Morrisons get my money when I buy fillet steak.

Starrystarrynight

Glad I'm not the only one to think the quality isn't always so good now! I used to buy M&S Indian ready meals, but found that the chicken was becoming very poor. At nearly £4 a time, it put me right off so I stopped buying them.
Some of their ranges are still lovely, but like other posters, I'm more careful now.

mmmsnow

I liked the M&S Count on Us range for low calorie ready meals and treats but there's been a big increase in the price of my favourite low-cal desserts and, to add insult to injury, the pots have magically gotten smaller!

noapron

I've found that shopping at a dedicated M&S Foodstore can be less than satisfactory. You have to be very vigilant about use by dates etc. As they can be very short indeed.

I've also found that along with Tesco, the quality of their fruit and veg has dipped. Because I shop in M&S food for quality fruit and veg in the main, when I'm in our town centre, I'm disappointed by this.

mother_hen_2

I agree M & S quality is not as good as it used to be, I stopped buying items such as their aberdeen angus burgers and mince meat because of this. Their pies are still yummie though!

Sunnyday

The only time that i shop there now is if an offer is on for something, it used to be nice to wander around and pop something different into your basket for a change/treat knowing that it would be lovely but not any more. The shrinking packs are another nail in the coffin, very much a shame but we can`t do much more than vote with our feet.

SD

over_flo

I'm glad it's not just me -

Perhaps I should email a link to this thread to M&S customer services !

Callie22

I agree - M&S food isn't that good anymore. You used to be able to pick up pretty much anything in there and know it was going to be nice, but not any more. I've stopped buying their meat after getting some really nasty burgers last year - they had big chunks of bone in them. The quality of everything there seems to have gone really downhill and it's a shame. I used to make an effort to go there fairly often but I just don't bother any more. I'd rather spend my money in Sainsbury's ...

I bought one of the 'fuller longer' meals the other day and it was disgusting. It was the chicken and squash risotto and it was bland and gluey. The chicken had a horrible spongy texture and tasted burnt. Not nice at all, and I won't be trying anything else from that range.