For the past few years I have purchased my boneless skinless chicken breasts from places like Albertsons, Costco and every once in awhile even Walmart.
The last few times I have come home from Walmart with a package of chicken breasts I got this feeling like something just wasn’t right.
The styrofoam package and the little juice-soaker-upper thingy (I know… real technical) felt almost as heavy as the chicken breasts inside. I had this nagging feeling that I was getting ripped off.
So last week when I brought home another package of chicken from Walmart I decided to go with my gut and actually weigh the chicken and package.
In the store the price said $2.09 per lb. That’s an okay price – I usually get better deals at Zaycon.
Here is the package I brought home.
I paid $10.74 for the package. It says there is 5.14 lbs of chicken inside. At $2.09 per lb the price is correct.
So the first thing I did was to set the whole package on the scale to see if it was 5.14 lbs.
Ummm…nope! It weighs 4.938 lbs. So right there the price is off. I measured a few other items to make sure my scale was accurate first and it was.
I did read on the packaging it says “Contains up to 15% natural chicken broth.” I was assuming that it was injected into the chicken breasts or something, but I noticed a TON of chicken juices in this package. I think that is kind of weasly, don’t you?
Next I decided to take out all the chicken and see how much that weighed by itself.
This is all the chicken in the package. I tared the scale and then put the chicken on the scale.
3.97 lbs.
I knew it. Oh the humanity. I was irritated and annoyed at this point. I should have only paid $7.92 for this package at $2.09 per lb.
Still, I wanted to weigh just the package and juice-soaker-upper thingie.
This weighed almost exactly ONE pound.
So…that $2.09 per pound price is now $2.71 per pound.
Sneaky sneaky packaging.
I feel cheated. Duped. Bamboozled (yeah, I just went there. ) I wanted to run to my computer and share this all right away. But I was nervous. I mean posting online that I was ripped off at Walmart? What if I got the Oprah treatment? (sued)
Well, just in case, I will leave this little disclaimer…this problem may have only been at my local store and not chain wide.
One Week Later
I bought chicken again, this time I happened to be at Winco. The chicken was priced at $2.09 per lb again.
On the package it says it should be 4.04 lbs, but it was actually 4.15 lbs! Way to go Winco…you actually considered the weight of the packaging!
When I weighed the chicken it was spot on at 4.04 lbs. Their styrofoam package was not nearly as heavy as the Wally world one. Sheesh.
So anyways, I was going to say to always avoid these kinds of packages and just go for either the frozen bags at Costco or fresh from a deli. But Winco surprised me that they actually are honest in their policies of weighing the meat. (Big slow clap for Winco!)
As for Walmart – I didn’t call customer service or complain to them in store. We ate the $3.00 lb. chicken and it was tasty. No problems in the quality of the product, the problem I have is the jacking up of the price because of the packaging dishonesty.
I plan on going in again with my scale and see if it happens again. And if it does I will complain.
So watch out for chicken cheats and always try to get what you paid for because if you’re not careful you may end up paying over two dollars for a piece of slimy chicken juice packaging.
Oh and question everything my friends. If you feel something is wrong, it probably is.
About Karrie
Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...
Comments & Reviews
Lana says
I don’t buy broth “enhanced” chicken. It’s hard to find with the recalls going on right now, unless of course you’re shopping organic. I started the habit when I was gluten free (chicken broths can contain gluten) but continued it when I learned I was allergic to some spices. The “enhanced” chicken tastes weird to me nowadays.
Anyway, the little absorbent things in the non-enhanced chicken rarely have any significant amount of liquid in them. I’ve never thought to weigh the packaging, but the disclaimer on the package that 15% of the chicken (and theoretically the weight) is not chicken should fairly clearly describe why the liquid can weigh so much. The first package you got was marked with the 15% broth disclaimer: the second does not have a disclaimer and therefore is not “enhanced”, so it should have around 10% more of the weight as actual chicken. (Depending on how much of the broth is retained by the “enhanced” chicken.)
Joanne says
All this truth in labeling for the weight of the package but they don’t have to tell the truth about the contents such as pink slime, GMO, etc? Crazy.
Bill says
Good try at trying to discredit walmart……but the pics at the first of your speil aren’t from Walmart….as a Walmart Dept. Manager…..the label on the Chicken isn’t a Walmart label….so try again…maybe next time you can do better.
Karrie says
Oh yes they are from Walmart! I think I know where I bought them. Sheesh. I walked out of the Walmart with this package in hand.
Heather says
I have bought this exact looking packages at several WalMart locations over the past couple of years.
Justin Knows says
I was a butcher for 8 years, and a meat manager for another 5. After reading the story and the rest of the comments, as well as taking a long hard look at your package of chicken. I would say that you were a victim of someone else’s greed. 6 boneless skinlees chicken breasts shouldn’t be anywhere near 5 lbs.
Here is how you got ripped off:
Cheap, low integrity person wants meat for dinner this week. They go through the whole lot of chicken breast packages and find the one with the largest size and the smallest size. They quickly and easily swap the stickers and they are gone. If the stickers have any corner of them not applied well, they easily peel off. Heck, they even come off when correctly applied, but about half the time the packaging will rip. I used to catch multiple people per week doing this in my meat shop.
Also, the things in the bottom soaking up the juice are called soaker pads.
Also, the quality control for a manufacturer that distributes to walmart is so strictly watched that any of the processing plants that supply walmart almost surely have USDA inspectors ONSITE during all production hours AND cleanup.
Trust me, Walmart is not trying to screw you over and if they are, they will put in print on the package in confusing yet comforting words for you to know.
I could blow your mind to the point that you would never walk into another meat or seafood department with the little “tricks” of the trade. I can tell you within 30 seconds of walking up to a meat counter if the butcher is legit or a huckster selling you his day old grind as freshly ground.
My 2 cents.
Anoymous Cutter says
I’ve have had that happen at my meat department many of times as well. You won’t believe how many times people will swap markdown labels on fresh meat to try and get away with it. Good explanation on your part.
Devin says
Good post Justin I work at Stop And Shop as a Seafood Manager and sometimes I help out the Meat Department when they are short help (wrapping meat,packing out coldcuts, frozen etc..) I’ve witnessed lots of shady customers peel stickers off trying to put a cheaper price on it OR take the reduced meat/seafood coupons off the package and put it on something else they want to purchase. I can also tell if the grinds are old or the steaks are being re-wrapped and sold as the normal fresh piece of steak.
Donald says
Wal*Mart messes with pricing to a point, sometimes , no most of the time you don’t know whether the price is the same, lower or higher. But the worst is, where did that chicken come from? No wait! The worst is, was the chicken raised on growth hormones and antibiotics? I don’t purchase any meat not packaged by the processor, except at a meat market. Meat markets also carry fresh non-packaged chicken, hormone and biotic free. The sad reality is one has to trust the store they are shopping at is honest, and few are completely. 🙁
Anoymous Cutter says
I had saw it posted on facebook to which I decided to response. I’m not angry about it, but it just seems like misinformation since you passed judgement based upon 1 package of each chicken. Just out of curiosity have you since bought another package to see if its accurate? I just like people to be more informed on things such as this as it is a passion of mine that I take very serious. Some would look to this as a “job”, but I see this as a duty to feed the community for if there wasn’t a butcher there would be no meat, chicken, pork, or whatever your heart desires. P.S I wouldn’t buy bagged frozen chicken. A co-worker of mine worked at a Pilgrims Pride plant and he told me the chicken breast that wouldn’t meet the requirements for trimmed skinless breast would end up being thrown into the freezer for processing. Bon Appetit 🙂
Kristina says
This is why I DON’T buy any meat from Walmart. This has been a well known fact about their meat for quite a while. I would rather go to Publix or Cocsto and pay a little more, but get a much better and usually organic piece of meat.
Catherine says
Raising chickens for food- My Grandma’s family did this too. I’m not sure Miss Karrie could though-she seems to get attached to all her animals 🙂 But it is a great solution. Have to say, I hate to see some of the angry posts towards Karrie. I’m not sure why some of you are SO bent out of shape. Have you EVER had a bad experience you told someone about? Karrie has been an awesome blogger, always so helpful and CHEERFUL. And you know what? She is doing what she loves. I am addicted to her daily posts, they always make me smile. We all have a voice, and we all go through things that we talk about because we are looking out for each other. We’re Americans and Thank God we have this freedom of speech.
Karrie says
Thanks Catherine, I am pretty sure the angry comments towards me are not from my regular readers. These are from visitors who don’t know me or my blog well, just saw this post. I know they don’t understand that I don’t hate Walmart, just wanted to let everyone know that it is okay to question things, and if you are feeling like something might not be right, it probably isn’t. Question everything! 🙂
CAWL says
Winco is, also, an employee owned store…I know that’s not important to everyone, but it’s nice to know my money is going to the workers AND there is honest business practices happening.
Bryan says
I’d like to point out something. You said the chicken weighed 3.97lbs. Price was $2.09. You said you should have paid $7.92: if I am correct 3.97*2.09= $8.30.
Just sayin
Joyce says
Their chicken is awful, so is Sams which is also a Walmart store. Only buy organic no matter what it weighs, yuck, it tastes so bad.
Amanda says
I just picked up my first Zaycon chicken order today. While there was about 2-3 lbs of liquid in the box, I don’t think it was added water, but just the natural juices that meat produces. The chicken looks good and I can’t wait to taste it!
Elmware says
If this ever happens, take it back and say that you’re unsatisfied with the product. If they ask why, then be honest and say it does not weigh 5Lbs as the packaging claims.
Danila MacDonald says
And not to mention that walmarts chicken is often seconds. I too love Zaycon chicken, it tastes fresh and the breasts are humongous! with my family of 5 that works perfectly for us. Thank you for your post. I will definitely be more aware of packaging and where I am purchasing my chicken.
Toni says
Thanks for the report – i guess if you’re in the store and you think it’s wrong, you could take it over to produce to weigh it.
Anoymous Cutter says
@Toni — I wouldn’t suggest doing that. It can cause a cross contamination and get people sick with Salmonella.
Anoymous Cutter says
@Diane Kroger The beef especially something such as Nolan Ryan beef and Angus beef are still products of the USA. The USDA opened its border up to importing meat about 2005 requiring a Meat COOL Log or Meat Country of Orgin Labeling to put the country of orgin of where the meat was processed. Your select beef most of the time is going to be US as well, but sometime i’ve seen them send in ones that say “Product of US, Mexico, Canada”. Some of your pork baby back ribs may be very well from Us, Canada as well, but in terms of chicken its all USA.
Anoymous Cutter says
I’m a butcher for a very well commercial chain and allow me to explain the whole process. There are many reasons why the package could of been incorrectly labeled. I’ve found in the past that the scales can malfunction and cause improper labeling, which could produce the wrong weigh. It usually requires a reboot and can begin weighing up once again. When they package up the chicken breast, the tray and soaker pad is tare weighted off. A family pack tray typically weighs 0.7 lb and a soaker pad .03 lb so a total tare of about .10 – .15 lb per family pack. When they use the combination of chicken broth and sea salt solution it preserves the chicken for up to 10 days. In this time of sitting in the tray the juice from these breast are absorbed from the packing which is called “purge”. In the future, before you write an entire series such as this its best to weigh up several packages at a time and to make sure your scale is calibrated correctly as your scale could be incorrect. The USDA comes into not only commercial plants, but also your local stores to check the scales. When a USDA agent came to my store and checked our scales I asked “is all our scales weighing up correctly?”, he replied “yes.”. Anyhow, in the future i’d suggest taking maybe 10 packages and checking the weighs. 😉
lenard says
Mr. Anoymous cutter, by the way anonymous is the correct spelling, one bad product is one to many. Quality Control should be checking more packages not the purchaser. The purchaser has every right to weigh one package and expect it to be correct also 1 lb is 20% added weight not the labeled 15%. Another thing is you failed to mention the percentage of this liquid ‘ chicken broth and sea salt solution’, when it is added, and how this is achieved,is each piece of chicken weighed to ensure the 15% is not adulterated .
Anoymous Cutter says
Machines do malfunctions and that could be the probability of 1 package making it through before someone notices it. I’m not 100 percent as to how they mix the solution, but my educated guess is that they dip them in the solution on an assembly line and allow them to air chill and package. Its labeled on the package that it contains an enhanced solution as required by the USDA. The tare of the tray and soaker pads are taken into account when entered into these systems. I didn’t say that they didn’t have the right to weigh a package, but I told someone not to use a scale in a produce department as it could cause someone to get seriously sick through cross contamination. I was simply stating that because one package is off doesn’t mean that its a common occurrence. I’ve seen bags of chips that have been half full and doesn’t contain the exact weight of what it should be but you don’t see me claiming that Doritos is ripping off customers? It was a machine mistake and could of been taken back for a full refund. You’re likely to have more accurate packaging if its done by someone in the store where they set the tare weights for packaging. 🙂
Garry says
I agree with you that based on your situation the weights are not the same, however, did you know that Tyson packages all of the beef, pork, and chicken for Walmart? Walmart doesn’t weigh or put the stickers on the packages of meat unless something comes off and needs replaced but you should notify their corporate so they can make contact with Tyson to correct their scales so they can get the correct weights on the packages. If one is wrong they probably have many incorrect on their packages. I know its easier to blame the retailer because of their name but the stores just have people stocking shelves not butchers.
Sher says
I usually get my frozen skinless chicken breast at Walmart… But, I get the 3 pound package that is in a sealed plastic bag.. It has no moister absorbers or tray… So, you can see if there is any excess liquid and choice another bag. I have done this for over 10 years and the meat has always to date been very good. Always read package to make sure that it is grown in the USA. Periodically check weight and has been 3 pounds or a little more.
kathy bechler says
I loved reading this. You never know about things unless you investigate. The juice soaker-upper thingy is actually called a diaper!