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Food weight query

Slightly random question:
how accurate do the weights on package food have to be?

I couldn't be bothered making soup for my lunches this week, so bought a couple of cartons of the Covent Garden stuff. One serving is half a carton and a carton states on the side that it it 600g. So I got two tubs, poured 300g into one and then poured 240g into the other, emptying the carton.

Hang on a minute, hold the front page! 300 + 240 != 600, that's 10% lower than stated on the carton. I checked the weights and they were definitely 300g and 240g.

That can't be right, can it?
«1

Comments

  • TadleyBaggie
    TadleyBaggie Posts: 6,761 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    600g including packaging perhaps?
  • 600g including packaging perhaps?

    I thought it might be that, but the nutritional information states that one serving is "half a carton (300g)"
  • fluffnutter
    fluffnutter Posts: 23,179 Forumite
    There's a tolerance allowed. It will depend on the item in question, but on general goods I think it's 2.5% on the contents and 5% on the packaging. That falls short of your 10%. However, how much soup was left inside the carton and how accurate are your scales?

    If you're concerned write to them. They'll weigh a few and tell you the amounts are within the legal tolerances.
    "Growth for growth's sake is the ideology of the cancer cell" - Edward Abbey.
  • However, how much soup was left inside the carton and how accurate are your scales?

    Scales are checked by my wife frequently, since she bakes a lot and needs weights to be accurate.

    Not only did I scrape everything out of the carton, I even swilled a bit water around it and poured that into a tub. Even with the water, it didn't make up the "missing" 60g.

    Have dropped them an email, I'll be interested to see what they say...
  • VfM4meplse
    VfM4meplse Posts: 34,269 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker I've been Money Tipped!
    Have dropped them an email, I'll be interested to see what they say...

    While you're at it, why not ask why their soups are so bland and tasteless? I don't understand the popularity of the product, it doesn't take a genius to make a soup that tastes great.
    Value-for-money-for-me-puhleeze!

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  • halibut2209
    halibut2209 Posts: 4,250 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    VfM4meplse wrote: »
    While you're at it, why not ask why their soups are so bland and tasteless? I don't understand the popularity of the product, it doesn't take a genius to make a soup that tastes great.

    Indeed. All you need is a stone.
    One important thing to remember is that when you get to the end of this sentence, you'll realise it's just my sig.
  • VfM4meplse wrote: »
    While you're at it, why not ask why their soups are so bland and tasteless? I don't understand the popularity of the product, it doesn't take a genius to make a soup that tastes great.

    I quite like their soups. They're certainly a lot better than the tinned stuff.

    Like I said, I just couldn't be bothered making my own this week.
    Indeed. All you need is a stone.

    Que?
  • halibut2209
    halibut2209 Posts: 4,250 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    One important thing to remember is that when you get to the end of this sentence, you'll realise it's just my sig.
  • fluffnutter
    fluffnutter Posts: 23,179 Forumite
    "Growth for growth's sake is the ideology of the cancer cell" - Edward Abbey.
  • Techhead_2
    Techhead_2 Posts: 1,769 Forumite
    edited 17 August 2011 at 11:37AM
    Scales are checked by my wife frequently, since she bakes a lot and needs weights to be accurate.

    Not only did I scrape everything out of the carton, I even swilled a bit water around it and poured that into a tub. Even with the water, it didn't make up the "missing" 60g.

    Have dropped them an email, I'll be interested to see what they say...



    You would be surprised at the accuracy of even commercial scales. An error of 10% is not unusual when combining errors due to original scale, your scale, manufacturing tolerances etc.


    (The very best digital scales are accurate to about 1% )
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