An analysis by BBC Panorama uncovered discrepancies in Tesco’s Aldi price-matched products.
- Certain Tesco items like chicken nuggets and blackcurrant squash contain less main ingredients than Aldi’s versions.
- For instance, Tesco’s chicken nuggets have 39% chicken, whereas Aldi offers 60%.
- Among 122 items examined, 38 had significantly less of their main ingredient compared to Aldi.
- Tesco asserts that ingredient quantity does not always equate to product quality.
An investigation led by BBC Panorama has highlighted significant disparities between the ingredient compositions of Tesco’s products and their Aldi equivalents, particularly those marketed as price-matched. The analysis, conducted in August, revealed that several of Tesco’s offerings, allegedly aligned with Aldi’s pricing, were not equivalent in terms of main ingredient content.
Examples from the analysis include Tesco’s chicken nuggets, which contain only 39% chicken compared to Aldi’s 60%. Similar findings were observed with Tesco’s chicken kievs, containing 44% chicken, while Aldi’s version contains 57%. Furthermore, Tesco’s chilli con carne exhibited a mere 15% beef content, starkly contrasting with Aldi’s version that offers 27% beef.
Out of a total of 122 groceries reviewed, 38 items from Tesco were identified as having at least five percentage points lower in main ingredient composition when compared to the Aldi equivalents. Despite this, it is noteworthy that twelve Tesco products were found to contain more of their main ingredient than Aldi’s.
Tesco has responded to these findings by maintaining that the quality assurance processes they have in place are robust. The company claims that a higher proportion of a specific ingredient does not inherently translate into enhanced quality, suggesting a focus on overall product quality rather than ingredient quantity alone.
While similar price-matching strategies are employed by other retailers like Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Morrisons, BBC Panorama’s analysis did not find a consistent pattern of ingredient disparity in their products when compared to Aldi.
The investigation underscores the importance of examining ingredient quality relative to quantity in price-matched products.
