A recent BBC Panorama investigation has raised concerns about Tesco’s price-matched products as they were found to contain less chicken, beef, and fruit juice compared to Aldi equivalents. The study discovered that certain Tesco items, like chicken nuggets, blackcurrant squash, and chicken kievs, had lower amounts of their main ingredients in comparison to Aldi’s offerings. For instance, Tesco’s chicken nuggets contained only 39% chicken while Aldi’s had 60%, and Tesco’s chicken kievs had 44% chicken versus Aldi’s 57%. Moreover, Tesco’s chilli con carne had 15% beef, significantly less than Aldi’s 27%. However, a few Tesco products were found to have more of the main ingredient.
In response to these findings, Tesco emphasised that they continuously assess the quality of their products and have robust processes in place to ensure that their price-match items are on par with Aldi’s. The supermarket pointed out that a higher proportion of a single ingredient does not necessarily indicate better quality. The five Aldi price-matched items with the most significant differences in the main ingredient proportions were chicken nuggets (chicken), chicken kievs (chicken), chilli con carne (beef), cottage pies (beef), and apple and blackcurrant squash (fruit juices).
While Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Morrisons also offer Aldi price-matched products, the investigation did not find consistent discrepancies in ingredient amounts when compared to Aldi’s products. A Tesco spokesperson mentioned, “Since we launched our Aldi Price Match four years ago, it has proved very popular with customers. We constantly review the quality of our products, and we have clear processes in place to ensure that the hundreds of products that are included are comparable with those sold at Aldi.”
It is essential for consumers to stay informed about the products they purchase and understand the quality and composition of the items they are buying. Supermarkets should strive to maintain transparency and ensure that their price-match products truly match the quality and quantity of their counterparts. As such, ongoing scrutiny and evaluations of such products are crucial to uphold consumer trust and confidence in the retail sector.