It hasn’t been a great week for Aldi, with angry customers cracking down on the continued sale of its caged eggs and now the company has been caught out for selling adulterated products.
Today, consumer advocacy group Choice reveals samples of oregano products sold in Australia were adulterated with olive and sumac leaves, with one product containing less than 10% oregano.
While the worst offender was Master of Spice, with only 10% oregano, Aldi was found to only have 26% of the herb. Aldi’s competitors Woolworths and Coles were found to 100% oregano leaves.
“It is unclear as to why the alteration has occurred, the fact is you shouldn’t need a lab test to tell you what herb you’re actually buying,” Choice head of media Tom Godfrey says.
“Consumers should be able to trust that if a product is labelled as 'oregano', it’s actually oregano.”
Earlier this week, the supermarket giant became the target of a social media campaign over its sale of caged egg after Animals Australia released a video of the Aldi egg farms.
Consumers bombarded the retailer’s Facebook page, demanding an end to the practice and boycotting its products.
I have heard that Aldi in Australia is not prepared to commit to the phasing out of cage eggs. I for one will not be...
Posted by Erna Stein on Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Dear ALDI, please STOP the caged hens practice. Because this practice is so very cruel.Thank you.
Posted by Lisa Du Fresne on Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Animal Australia campaign director Lyn White says it’s time for Aldi to join other companies in Australia which have committed to phasing out caged eggs including 46 IGAs, Mars, Subway, McDonald’s and Hungry Jacks.
Coles have removed cage eggs from their Coles-branded eggs and have reduced the price of free range eggs as well as increasing shelf space for cage-free eggs.
Last year, Choice launched its #GiveACluck campaign, aiming to crack down on misleading “free range” claims. The issue of free range eggs has recently gained momentum, with Choice appealing for government legislation to introduce a nationally enforced standard.
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