Quality worsening, prices rising, quantities lowering

cormie

Just back from Tesco where I got some of their Organic Pure Set honey, and it seems a lot less "set" than usual, it's usually quite hard, today it was much softer than usual, almost as if it had been watered down?

Tesco branded hummus has gone from using olive oil, to vegetable oil.

Lidl Carrick Glen water, used to be 17c per litre, now it's about 25 I think, but you don't realise because the price for the multi pack is about the same, but now you get 6x2 litre bottles instead of the 8 you got before.

Has anyone else noticed things like this popping up? Little changes that people wouldn't generally notice, but changes for the worse none the less!

Thoie

cormie wrote: »

Just back from Tesco where I got some of their Organic Pure Set honey, and it seems a lot less "set" than usual, it's usually quite hard, today it was much softer than usual, almost as if it had been watered down?

The weather's warmer, the honey's probably a bit runnier.

Haven't noticed the others.

cormie

I was thinking that about the honey alright but I don't think it would be affected that much in a temperature controlled store.

wmpdd3

I eat mountains of the Tesco Houmous 200g, never noticed but no way would I eat it if it is made wholy with vegtable oil.

I know nothing about honey other than it seams to get harder in my press at home.
E-mail Tesco customer service and get them to look into it.

Nody

Check the sugar content, more sugar makes honey more liquid (note this can be natural sugar from spring flowers or added sugar, hence check the sugar content).

cormie

I think if it's called "pure" honey, it can't have any sugar added. I hope not :mad:

I go through quite a lot of honey, at least a jar a week, and this is the softest it's been.

Tom Dunne

Yeah, I've noticed it.

Just finishing a Tesco banana and strawberry smoothie and without question, it is more "watery" than it used to be.

I have stopped going to a sandwich place beside the job when they started counting out the olives and sundried tomatoes they put into a sandwich, instead of just spooning them out like they did before.

I now go to another sandwich place where they actually give decent sandwiches at the same price.

eth0_

The common denominator here is Tesco - are you surprised?

Don't shop with this evil corporation. They like to screw everyone over - farmers to consumers.

Vegetable oil in houmus! What are they on!

calex71

not just tesco , noticed a price hike in booze in a few places, tuborg x6 pack is up to 7.99 form 7.49 in recent weeks. Amstel x8 pack also up 50c to 10.49

mandandpeter

not sure if this goes here but i was shopping in dunnes and went past there bbq ribs, when there was a sign above them saying used to be E5.99 now E3.99, when i have bought them in the past they have always been E3.99! dont know if its a ploy to get people to buy them or what! lol:D but i have noticed that alot og quality is lacking and prices hiking up, also noticed in dunnes that they only have small amounts of tinned items on there shelves, always when i buy tinned carrots there is always only 4 on the shelf, its the same with alot of other items, i dont know if its just my local dunnes or what, also wanted to do some baking but dunnes do not sell cocoa!

anyway rant over :pac:

JohnC.

mandandpeter wrote: »

also noticed in dunnes that they only have small amounts of tinned items on there shelves, always when i buy tinned carrots there is always only 4 on the shelf, its the same with alot of other items, i dont know if its just my local dunnes or what, also wanted to do some baking but dunnes do not sell cocoa!

anyway rant over :pac:

Do you go shopping late in the day? Many stores do a nightpack, so stock could be low if it hasn't been packed since before the shop opened.

mikemac

Big fan of Glenisk products!
They decreased the size of their yoghurts but kept the price the same

Just back from Tescos too.
Had a look at their salad bar, ehhhhhhh:p
I'd say it was sitting out there all weekend, the egg mayonnaise has a yellow crust developing *vomits*

rubadub

cormie wrote: »

I think if it's called "pure" honey, it can't have any sugar added. I hope not :mad:

It probably can, since AFAIK the water is not really classed as an ingredient like that. Check the sugar content as mentioned, I think honey is around 77% sugar, just compare to other brands. As it is organic I expect it could vary from source to source.

cormie

Had a google and here are some ways to test :pac:

# Check the label. You would be amazed at how many people neglect to look closely at the label of food products before buying them, and then are dismayed to find they bought something they really didn't want. Check around the brand name, and the ingredients list (if there is one) for a mention of additives. The company should be required to list them if you are shopping in certain countries. If there are no mentions of additives, buy the honey.
# Taste the honey. If it seems off, and yet the label claims it is pure, there are a few simple tests you can run to check the purity of the honey.

* The dissolving test.

o Get a glass of water. This and a tablespoon of honey are all you need for the first test.
o Empty the honey into the water. If the honey is impure, it will dissolve in the water- the most common additive to honey is syrup of jaggery, which dissolves. If it is pure, the honey will stick together and sink as a solid lump to the bottom of the glass.
o This test can also be completed by mixing equal parts honey and methylated spirits (denatured alcohol). Pure honey will settle to the bottom. Impure honey is more likely to remain dissolved and make the solution milky.
* The flame test.

o Get a lighter and a candle with a cotton wick. This test is better if you don't have as much honey to spare.
o Dip the cotton wick of the candle into a bit of the honey, and shake off the excess.
o Attempt to light the wick. If it burns, then it is completely pure honey. If it refuses to burn, then the presence of water is not allowing the wick to burn. (If there is only a very small amount of honey on the wick, though, it might still burn. It will produce a crackling sound, and it would be best to blow out the wick and try it again this time using more honey.)
* The absorption test.

o Pour a few drops of honey on blotting paper and observe whether or not it is absorbed. If it's absorbed, the honey's not pure.
o If you don't have blotting paper, pour a little bit of honey on a white cloth, then wash the cloth. If there is any stain left by the honey, it is probably not pure.

cormie

Well I did the dissolve and flame test. When I first put the honey into the water, it seemed not to dissolve at all, however, this morning, the lump is no more but it's spread evenly over the bottom of the glass and looks far more dissolved than when I first put it in.

The flame test, I'm not sure if I did it right, but I smothered a wick in the honey, and at first it wouldn't light, but as I burnt away the honey, the wick eventually lit, but then went out as it burnt further down the wick where there was more honey.

I'm not sure if my tests are conclusive, I'd really need to test against some certified pure honey. Where I can DEFINITELY get that, I suppose I don't know.

Nody

Try to locate a fair food market or similar; they usually sell real honey and it tastes far better then anything from a Superstore.

mandandpeter

Kahless wrote: »

Do you go shopping late in the day? Many stores do a nightpack, so stock could be low if it hasn't been packed since before the shop opened.

I have been shopping at different times of the day, always the same :mad: We did ask them about cocoa and they said they do not stock it :eek: I was thinking "you what! Its cocoa!"

cormie

Got another 2 jars of honey from tesco, both much harder than the one mentioned above which was good to see, but very sweet compared to what I remember and an almost sugary texture. I tried the water test again before I left the house, when I came back about 2 hours later, the lump I dropped in had dissolved at the bottom of the jar. Hmmm

foggy_lad

cormie wrote: »

Got another 2 jars of honey from tesco, both much harder than the one mentioned above which was good to see, but very sweet compared to what I remember and an almost sugary texture. I tried the water test again before I left the house, when I came back about 2 hours later, the lump I dropped in had dissolved at the bottom of the jar. Hmmm

did it simply settle at the bottom of the jar and spread out on the flat surface under the weight of water on it? or actually mix and dissolve into the water?

cormie

Well the bit I put in was about the size of half a teaspoon, Now about 15mm of water from the bottom is a different colour to that of the top.