Watch out viewers, Aldi is charging $2.49 for ONE (Single) sweet bull capsicum, I made the mistake of buying one as it was sitting with red and green capsicums that were priced at $6.99 and $7.99 a kilo so when I read $2.49 I thought it too was per kilo and bought just one as I am a pensioner living by myself and one was all I wanted to add into a meal, when I got home and read the receipt, I put the cap on my scales and it weighed just 92grams so with my old style maths I worked out it costs about $26 a kilo!!! While other shops and grocers charge between $5 and $10 a kilo for the same red bull cap and when I emailed Aldi thinking it was some mistake, no they proudly stated they charge $2.49 each. How long till we are paying top dollar for vegetables by buying them singularly rather than by the kilo⊠That will be different⊠and NOT good either
Welcome to the forum Doc.
Selling capsicum, peppers or chillies by number does not seem to be lawful.
As a rule fruit and vegetables must be sold by weight but there are specified exceptions.
I donât see capsicum on the list.
Thanks for that list @syncretic I canât see any capsicum species to be sold by number either.
I donât shop at Aldi, only been in once in my life, many years ago, but I hear they now have their veg pre-packed, so it is scan only, no weighing etc.
@5starK Did the label on the pack say $2.49 or do you buy them loose? If loose then we should go back to Aldi and point out their error, you may get a refund and save others from the same mistake.
Hi zackarii, there is no law in Australia that F&V must be sold by weight; however if itâs pre-packed then the weight MUST be clearly marked on the packaging, OR if itâs a set weight (say 1kg), then thatâs the absolute minimum weight that a pack can be, it can be a few grams over, but cannot be under, otherwise that needs to be clearly stated. Iâm also an avid Aldi fan & buy these âPalermoâ peppers regularly, myself, & they are not pre-packed. I also find that the prices are always VERY clearly marked in Aldi, as opposed to Coles & Woolies. In this case, it sounds like a lazy customer has thrown this bull pepper in with the regular capsicums, so you canât fault Aldi for that. In fact, they have a really good return policy & will happily take something back (within reason), if youâre not happy with the quality.
Hi syncretic, there is no law in Australia prohibiting the sale of F&V by number. The only rule here is that any pre-packaged produce be clearly marked & the weight clearly displayed on the pack. If itâs a set weight pack (eg. 1kg), then the absolute minimum weight allowed is ONE kilo, so often you might find that kilo pack of apples, might actually be 50 or 100 grams over, which is okay. BUT⊠if the pack is under the advertised weight, then you have the legal right to return it for a refund, or to be charged the price for the ACTUAL weight. My family & I have been in (all aspectâs of) the food industry since 1954.
The list @syncretic refers to comes from legislation -
subregulation 4.13(5) of the National Trade Measurement Regulations 2009 in force under the National Measurement Act 1960
There has been discussions on the forum about e weights, where the actual weight can be over or under eg 440g e can be 420g or 460g Have not seen e weights on f&v, but I donât shop in supermarkets much. I grow the stuff but havenât sent anything to the Brisbane Markets for years. So I am out of touch with regards to todays rules. Donât shop at Aldi, Coles, Woolies. Occasional Foodworks (tiny), but once a fortnight at a warehouse where most f&v is loose & seconds. Hence my ignorance.
As written and taken on its own that statement is true. But it does not mean vendors are allowed to sell whatever F&V they like by number.
The reason is that the area is controlled through regulation instead of direct legislation. This kind of mechanism is often used to allow the relevant Minister to make changes to details without the changes going through parliament as a bill.
If you look at the list I provided of F&V and other materials in the link it gives the relevant regulations and Act which gives those regs force of law.
Packaged F&V have different rules and as far as we know that is not related to this topic as the original poster said
I made the mistake of buying one as it was sitting with red and green capsicums that were priced at $6.99 and $7.99 a kilo so when I read $2.49
Which we have taken to mean the one bought was sitting there unpackaged. Also Aldi replied by email that they were each.
The Bull Capsicums were in a basket, there were a few of them sitting there, they were all loose as were the red and green capsicumâs, I even went down to Aldi yesterday and they were still selling them loose and this time I put on my reading glasses and looked at the price sticker and it does say $2.49 each while the red and green ones pricing state per kilo. There was no indication of how much you pay per kilo and that came about when I was home and plonked the one cap on my kitchen scales. I emailed Aldi when I realized I was charged for just one and they replied quite happily that they do charge for a single cap so there is no mistake about it which is why I decided to raise this with the group. Tell everyone to beware of Aldi as this change is different and could change how we buy vegetables in the future which I think is No Good.
Just to clarify, there are 3 separate baskets with capsicums, there was no mix up or anything like that
They were not pre-packaged either.
Could you get images of the items? It may be useful to forward such to Aldi head office and/or the media along with the link above about the exemptions (or lack of) to selling by weight. You could also try to post on Aldiâs Facebook page too but be sure to provide evidence. Wider advertising will more likely get more results than just here.
I think there may be some confusion about what the legislation is saying. I interpreted the rule is about when those listed items are pre-packaged (I.e., not loose) by the head statement. It then goes on to detail which products that are pre-packaged that may be sold by number, or linear or area measurement rather than by our usual expectation of weight.
â The sale of pre-packaged products by number or linear or area measurement as detailed in the schedule below has been approved under subregulation 4.13(5) of the National Trade Measurement Regulations 2009 in force under the National Measurement Act 1960, for products otherwise not covered by the provisions of the Regulations.â
As the type of capsicum in this particular instance is loose, I interpret that it may be sold as a single item with a fixed price per item. Not perhaps the usual way of selling a lot of produce, but ALDI have chosen to sell by per item rather than weight for this particular item.
I may be wrong in my interpretation as I am no legal expert nor am I au fait with the selling of various produce through a retail business.
You are right the header mentions pre-packaged but the schedule does not.
So my comments about it not being being law are correct but their scope is narrower and the schedule does not include loose veges. My apologies to @5starK and @Sallymac and all.
No need to apologize syncretic, I for one am shocked and went into Coles this morning and there they were selling the red bull cap for $2.90 each, and now reading about selling carrots one at a time, man what a time to be alive eh. Well I for one will stick with my local greengrocer who was selling the red bull capsicums loose for $9.99 a KILO and in packets for $5 a KILO and since he operates in the same shopping centre as Aldi, Coles and Woolies and so would have to make some profit to be able to stay in business, I have for the past few years stuck with butchers too. I think the Government inquiry should be broadened and have some proper punishment dished out to these 3 players.
To assist others to more readily find the recent posts/discussion involving the more widespread practices of selling F&V as individual units - the topic heading has been updated.
Aldi not so Different? Supermarkets pricing fresh F/V loose per the number (each) purchased.
I checked Coles on-line and found veg & fruit sold individually, but they have the rider that it is priced per kg. Eg carrots:
Coles Carrots Loose | approx 170g
$0.42
$2.50 per 1kg
Final price is based on weight
Some fruit and veges sold online are per item, where in store they are sold on a weight basis.
I understand that this is done as it is easier to pack one item, rather than say 500gms (which for larger items such as whole pumpkins, melons etc would be impossible to do.
With carrots, it is easier to select 3 carrots rather than say 500gms. Also many consumers would not know how many loose carrots in a kilo. Once number selection is made, then some products are weighed and price paid is based on weight. Carrots can vary significantly in weight, so weighing is a reasonable approach.
Thank you, moderator, it was my first post and I had to say something about this crime that it seems all of the Big 3 are pulling in regards to selling F&V and during their inquiry⊠I wonder if the pollies are asking these questions?? I saw on Media watch a clip from Sky with Bob Katter attempting to explain how supermarkets buy at a certain percentage then quadruple it in order to make massive profits, while his ramble was sort of weird it seems he may have been on the right track waving a solitary potato around.
