SHOPPERS are being duped by half-empty packaging on everything from sweets and crisps to cereal and cat biscuits, a Sun probe reveals today.
We all know about shrinkflation, where snacks are made smaller in size but remain the same in price.
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But this sneaky trick is known as “slack fill”, where food is sold with excess packaging to give the impression that shoppers are getting more for their money.
Our investigation found a wide range of supermarket products were affected.
The analysis of social media complaints, however, shows most gripes relate to “treat” items such as sweets, chocolates and crisps, which shoppers are likely to impulsively grab.
Our tests found the chocolates inside 119g packs of Cadbury’s Giant Buttons reach up to just 37 per cent of the height of the bag, while M&S Rocky Road bites and Tesco popcorn were two-thirds full.
Aldi’s Specially Selected cheese and tomato bites reached just over half the height of the outer box, while Asda’s Strawberry Wands sweets sell in wrappers more than double their size, including the top and bottom edges.
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Thorntons Pearls salted caramel sensation chocolates (167g) have a 1.5cm-high shelf at the bottom with empty space underneath.
We also found filler packaging inside gift chocolates.
Small boxes of Milk Tray (78g) and Dairy Milk (162g) are so filled with plastic they could contain double the number of chocolates.
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The same is true of Lily O’Brien’s popular Desserts Collection.
The gaps between the chocs varied due to the fact they were held in a plastic mould made up of irregularly shaped holes.
But in the worst examples, some Milk Tray treats were more than 2.5cm apart, while the Dairy Milk ones were up to 2cm apart.
Lily O’Brien’s were spaced around 1cm apart on two of three rows.
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Packaging trends expert Paul Jenkins, from ThePackHub consultancy, said: “The general problem of underfilled packaging is getting better due to pacts made by supermarkets to use less plastic and other materials.
“But sweets and chocolate packaging could be better designed to cut down on excess empty space.
“These products are typically bought as gifts and treats which people want to make the most of, so they are looking for bigger and more impressive packaging.”
Consumer champion Martyn James urged shoppers to take care when shopping for treats.
He said: “Give them a good look, compare product weights for the best value.”
In the UK, there is no law against unnecessarily large pack-aging, so long as the weight is stated correctly.
A Cadbury spokesman said it is currently making “a number of positive changes” across its small and medium Cadbury Share bags and is looking at ways of improving its Milk Tray packaging.
Nestle said of its Dairy Box: “We know we can do better in reducing the amount of material.”
Walkers said: “Our crisp packets are filled by weight rather than volume.”
Ferrero, owner of Thorntons, said the packaging of Pearls chocs was designed to provide “functional and structural durability” while using less cardboard.
And Lily O’Brien’s said: “All our packaging clearly labels the weight and content of the chocolates inside the box.”
Tesco, Aldi and Asda said its packaging kept the product fresh and protected.
M&S said the tubs for all in its mini bites range are the same size, but the various types of cake inside aren’t the same shape or density, “so in this case there is more space in the pot”.
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