A senior Loblaw employee is speaking out on LinkedIn to address recent reports of underweight grocery products, claiming these incidents are rare mistakes.
“In recent months, I’ve seen social media posts and stories that have made me realize how little is known in some areas about producers’ and manufacturers’ unwavering commitment to rigorous food quality,” wrote Mary MacIsaac, Loblaw’s senior vice president of marketing, in her post.
LinkedIn/ Screenshot
While MacIsaac doesn’t point to any particular social media examples, some Canadians have taken to the internet to raise awareness of their experiences purchasing underweight Loblaw products.
However, MacIsaac said that Loblaw has a rigorous process to ensure that product labels reflect the weight listed on their packaging.
“Every product we launch goes through several steps from development… until they end up on our shelves — to ensure we have the best quality [and] accurate packaging weights,” she wrote, adding that “every single aspect is evaluated and manually verified.”
The marketing VP said that while mistakes do happen with some product weights, they occur very rarely. She went on to claim that only less than 1 in 10 million issues have been reported based on Loblaw’s data.
When these mistakes are brought forward, MacIsaac said Loblaw takes “immediate steps to make it right.”
She also highlighted that the company has a satisfaction guarantee on its in-house brands, such as No Name and President’s Choice, which allows customers to return those products.
“All of these processes are in place not only for regulatory compliance but so our customers can feel confident with the products they buy,” concluded MacIsaac.
“Believe me when I say that a happy customer is the most important thing to our entire team.”
MacIsaac’s post comes after a recent (now viral) incident involving one customer who posted a video about an underweight bag of No Name brand vegetables.
Jacob MacLellan spoke out about his discovery on TikTok in May.
“So I went to the grocery store yesterday, and I just picked up some frozen vegetables because I was like, ‘They’re cheaper, they’ll last a while,’” he stated in his video. “I picked it up, and I was like, ‘750 grams? This is not 750 grams.’”
After weighing the bag, MacLellan found out the item only contained 434 grams of veggies.
@jmaclellan Loblaws, count your days @CBC @Globalnews.ca #shrinkflation #canada #inflation ♬ original sound – jacob
MacLellan went back to the No Frills store where he purchased the item and brought his own kitchen scale to prove to staff that the bag was underweight. He claims that staff initially only offered him an exchange.
“I worked at Loblaws as a teenager at the customer service desk and know that all No Name and PC products can be returned without a receipt and for no reason. When I flexed my 10-year-old training to the manager, he gave me my money back,” he told Daily Hive in a previous interview.
On No Frills’ website, it states that customers not satisfied with the quality of President’s Choice, No Name, or Teddy’s Choice products can “simply return… with receipt or original package for an exchange or refund.”
MacLellan is one of many Canadians who have noticed underweight grocery items.
New data from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) also indicates that more shoppers are filing complaints about incorrect weight labelling at grocery stores.
Data shared by the CFIA shows that between May 1, 2021, and April 30, 2022, the agency received 22 net-quantity-related food complaints.
Between May 1, 2022, and April 30, 2023, there were 37 complaints. One year later, between May 1, 2023 and April 30, 2024, Canadians submitted 89 complaints.
The CFIA said it takes these issues seriously and wants to know about products consumers think are labelled as misleading.
“Consumers can report these to the CFIA through our food complaint or concern webpage. They can also contact the manufacturer or importer if they want more information about a particular product,” the agency advised. More details about how to file a complaint can be found here.
Daily Hive has reached out to Loblaw for further comment.