No complaints received regarding 'mislabelling' of food products at supermarkets: CASE
A packet of salmon that was purportedly mislabelled at NTUC FairPrice. (Screengrabs: TikTok/ben20220207)
SINGAPORE: The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) has advised buyers to do their own checks on the weight of pre-packaged food if they are doubtful of what is stated on the label.
In response to CNA queries, the consumer rights group said on Thursday (Feb 10) that it did not receive any complaints regarding the "mislabelling" of food products at NTUC FairPrice or any other supermarkets.
A number of social media videos recently appeared to show discrepancies between the actual weight of food items - such as chicken and salmon - sold at NTUC FairPrice branches and the weight indicated on the label, which was higher.
The supermarket chain apologised for these incidents, adding that it would investigate what it described as "mislabelling".
FairPrice said its weighing scales are “independently calibrated by authorised vendors certified by the authorities”, and are checked on an annual basis and undergo maintenance twice a year.
In addition, it said it had introduced additional protocols, requiring all its stores to conduct daily checks on the scales before the start of business.
"Fresh products that have already been labelled will also have the weight rechecked to ensure label accuracy," FairPrice said.
CASE president Melvin Yong, who is also the Member of Parliament for Radin Mas, noted FairPrice had clarified that the incident was likely caused by human error.
He said CASE welcomed assurances by FairPrice that there were measures in place to ensure accuracy of their weighing scales, and that additional measures had been instituted to "minimise such incidents from repeating".
Mr Yong also advised consumers buying or weighing pre-packaged to take note of several matters.
"Check the weight of the product on a weighing scale if you are doubtful of what is stated on the label," he said, adding that consumers should confirm the weighing instrument display indicates ‘zero’ before items are weighed.
They should alert staff should the weight or price display be unclear or inaccurate, he added.
He also advised consumers to check the weighing instrument for the ACCURACY label indicating that it has been verified for accuracy.
Mr Yong also called on consumers to check their receipts to ensure the prices of purchased items are reflected correctly.
