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
Nicole says
I have had this same thing happen to me. I called and complained. I received a couple coupons to “make up” for the difference.
Jay Clark says
I never purchase meat from Walmart, think about this ask a butcher how long meat will stay fresh in his meat counter, about 5 days or less. All of Walmart’s meat is processed off site, shipped to a distribution center, then to a warehouse, then to the individual Stores, all of this takes 5 or more days. What chemicals are used to keep the meat fresh and do you really want to be eating those chemicals
Rebecca Waldenberg says
http://consumerist.com/2007/11/10/walmart-fined-89705-for-overcharging-wisconsin-customers/
Matt says
I’ve been in Wal-Mart once in the past 4 years, and didn’t buy anything when I went there (it was after hours, I needed a bolt for a headboard in our guest room – expecting company the next day, and the hardware store was closed). Wal-Mart was out of stock so I ended up just leaning the headboard against the wall and got my bolts the next time I needed to head to my local hardware store. I have to say that I don’t miss anything about that store!
Jeff says
I would say that a call to your states Weights and Measures Department is in order. Items sold by weight and volume need to have an accurate posting of the total price, price per pound, and weight of the consumable product. An inspector will typically pay a visit to the location where the item was purchased and verify the packaging, scale accuracy, and spot check items in the store.
Good Luck.
Cherilynne says
there are about a gazzillion posts so dont’ know if this was covered, but you can weigh your package of meat in one of the produce scales just to make sure it is correct. Be courteous tho and put a plastic around it first so it doesn’t add contamination to the next persons raw apples. Then understand that your package should weigh MORE than what is on the label because the meat should have been weighed with out the package being included. If it weighs less, get an associate to fix or adjust the package to reflect the correct weight. Some times it isn’t the company being sneaky, it was a worker who didn’t understand how to operate the scales and label machine.
James Watt says
This really doesn’t surprise me, but it is kind of you to take the time to test your suspicions and publish your findings. We stopped shopping at Walmart for our meats about a month ago and switched to all local suppliers. There is a huge quality difference in what we are getting. At first, I thought it would be more expensive to buy local meats, but it’s actually turned out the opposite.
Chris says
It is not in your mind. I stopped buying my boneless skinless chicken from WalMart because of the same exact reason. I package the chicken into 1 pound packages for cooking purposes. When the package says it’s 5 lbs I expect 5 packs, but I only get 4. The other pound is the package and the ‘soaky up thingy’. I go other places to buy chicken now.
Erin Crouch says
Raw chicken is so nasty! Ha! Anyway, I didn’t read all the comments, so forgive me if there is a comment above that states the same as this: I wanted to point out that the chicken you purchase at the grocery store is more than likely pumped full of a saline solution. That is part of the price you pay in your $2.09 a lb. That solution is what is leaking out and weighing down the spongy-thing. If you would like to avoid this, buy chicken meat from a local farmer. It will be much healthier for you anyway.
Erin Crouch says
Oh yes, I also wanted to say that I used to work at a grocery store and they always TARE off the weight of the package tray.
Steve Nance says
I work for Walmart and can only speak to what I have seen.
The company works hard to do great things for its’ customers and the communities it operates in.
I will refrain from my thoughts on this and see if I can get some perspective to share
wendy says
Time to file a class action law-suit – this would be BIG
Angela says
I, too, agree that it is unfair to blame a company for dishonesty when you never bothered to contact them regarding the issue. I had a similar issue with a package of chicken breasts from Tyson. I emailed their customer service regarding the weight discrepancy, and they mailed me a coupon for a free package of chicken. It was well worth my time, but when I buy pre-packaged chicken, I often weight it now (versus purchasing from the meat counter where they weight it in your presence).
It would be more honest of you to contact the company before making this assertion.
Anna N. says
thank you! I so agree with you. Most of all stores carry prepackaged meat. I didn’t think it was fair to compare to a package of meat that was done at store level, to a package that was done at a chicken plant. It drives me crazy that so many people want to blame Walmart when the same things happen at your other neighborhood stores, but you rarely ever hear about them.
calahan says
Cograts? You picked one chicken to downplay an entire company? How about you buy 5-20, weight them all out, and get an average. Considering people cut and prepare these products, out of hundreds of walmarts and thousands and thousands of pounds of meat being worked with, what’s the off chance that some was mistakenly misweighed and sent out. It happens, but weighing out 2 pieces of chicken isn’t really enough to say that you are being ripped.
jellybean says
I wouldn’t buy and packaged meat from Walmart because of what I saw on television. I would buy the frozen meats but not the fresh (so they say). Just saying.
T says
You should always contact the store manager & if nothing is done contact the Department of Weights & Measures. If your state has this, your tax dollars go to making sure the weights & scales of business are not stealing from the consumer.
de says
Walmart isn’t the only one. I once ruined my favorite shirt when I picked up a package of beef at VON’s and bloody liquid poured out all over me. The manager barely spoke English and refused to replace my shirt, which was stained beyond repair.
Sandy says
Actually the WINCO one was probably correct for the amount of chicken. They are NOT supposed to include the packaging or soaker in the price per pound. It is ONLY supposed to be the meat. Period. Fred Meyer got dinged for this big time (and in trouble). It is false advertising.
Anna N. says
Although I appreciate this post, I just wanted to put my input in. To be fair to Walmart they do not package the meat, an outside company does that, and they could fully not be aware of it. Secondly the second store you went to looks like they package that instore, they have a lot more control over the “natural Juices” in what they are packaging. So you are always going to get a more accurate meat weight. Might I suggest you offer the same post from a tyson package at another store other than Walmart. Most stores carry prepackaged chicken like Tyson. Just to see the difference.
Stacey says
OMG! I find it so interesting that I came across this article today. Yesterday I bought chicken from Wal-mart. I fixed it tonight for dinner. You are right, it was very tasty chicken. However, once I took all the chicken out of the package, I thought it was unusually heavy. I dismissed it as “the juices” but now I will be more careful. Thanks for the heads up!
Jordan Sommerfeld says
Why would you buy boneless skinless breasts anyway? Don’t you know how much they hurt the farmer (actual farmer, not the little guy) Buy whole chickens, pasture raised, I pay $3/lb and I know the farmer, and know the product is high quality, and not soaked in chemical laden, so-called “broth”.