Their response is below, as well as my response to their response. In a nutshell, they did not get the point and just cut&pasted a standard answer....
Stay tuned!
From: Ludovic Windsor
To: Tesco Customer Service
Date: 10 March 2006 11:56
Subject: Re: TES1895025X Re: food labeling
Dear Helen,
Thanks for your email, but you did not answer my point.
I specifically have an issue with precisely this point:
"Food labels are controlled by Government legislation and should allow customers to compare the quality and quantity of different products, as well as the nutritional value."
I believe that Tesco -and other major retailers- do not comply with this when selling in particular -but not only- fruits and vegetables EITHER by unit OR by £/kg. This indeed does not allow to compare the price. I went shopping the other week at your Twickenham store and you were selling cooking apples by piece, other kind of apples by kg and yet other kinds by pre-packed bags (of 10 I think).
How can consumers know which is the cheapest by kilogram?
I believe this practice is misleading and would like your comments.
Regards,
LW>
From: Tesco Customer Service To: Ludovic Windsor Date: 2006/3/10
Thank you for your email.
Thank you for contacting us with your concerns regarding our food labelling.
Food labels are controlled by Government legislation and should allow customers to compare the quality and quantity of different products, as well as the nutritional value.
We try to give as much information as possible on our product labels, but design legislation, which prevents products being packed in oversized packs, restricts the amount of space and wording that can be used. Being very aware of the environmental impact of packaging waste, we therefore try not to use excessive packaging on our products.
At the moment, the law states that we are not required to list certain ingredients. For example, if water makes up less than 5% of the product, it does not have to be included on the label. Also, it is not necessary to fully list compound ingredients. For example, pastry in a quiche may not have its ingredients listed, if it accounts for less than 25% of the product.
However, we do know that some of our customers require extra information when choosing products due to allergies, etc. Therefore, we have a selection of free-from lists available that we send out to our customers. If you would like one of our lists, please call our Helpline on 0800 505555.
Thank you for letting us know your views.
If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us at xxx.
Kind Regards
Helen xxx
Tesco Customer Service
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ludovic Windsor" Date: 03 March 2006
Subject: food labeling
Dear Sirs,
Could you pls pass this request to your PR department?
I am a blogger/consumer and wrote the following post: richmondtransits.blogspot.com/2005/12/supermarkets-2-labeling.html
I would be most interested in your reaction, in particular to know if you abide by the EU legislation cited in this blog post.
Best,
Ludovic Windsor
