There is nothing like a really good Irish tomato, but the tomatoes a reader found on the shelves of his local Tesco recently were absolutely nothing like a really good Irish tomato – despite the retailer’s claims to the contrary.
In his local Tesco, Matt Davey spotted something that we reckon many people – including, for the sake of full disclosure, Pricewatch – might easily have missed.
And what was that? Well, Matt saw tomatoes that were described in a large font on the packaging as being “IRISH TOMATOES ON THE VINE”.
However, in a considerably smaller font at the bottom of the packaging, it becomes clear their origin is actually Spain.
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“I like to buy Irish veg where possible, so nearly popped these Tesco ‘Irish Tomatoes’ in my basket before spotting the country of origin in its conveniently smaller font,” he says. “Is this a violation of product labelling consumer law?”
[ Is the Tesco self-scan being policed more ruthlessly?Opens in new window ]
While we’d be reluctant to suggest that Tesco is breaking the law, we are pretty sure the labelling is misleading – a point we made to the retailer.
In response, Tesco said that “as the biggest retail buyer of Irish food and drink in the world, we’re proud of our strong relationships with Irish growers, and would never deliberately mislead our customers about the provenance of a product”.
Fair enough – but that does not explain how this misleading product appeared on its shelves and was very nearly bought by our reader.
The statement goes on to say that “this tomato-labelling error was a genuine mistake where the incorrect packaging was used on product from Spain. Once the problem was identified, the product was removed from sale immediately and donated to local community organisations through our partnerships with FoodCloud and Olio, to minimise food waste. Irish tomatoes will be back on sale on our shelves as soon as they are in season again.”
It wasn’t the first Tesco-related mail we received, as it happens.
Michael Logan is fond of English breakfast tea, although we don’t think you should judge him too harshly for this terrible lapse in taste.
His brand of choice is Tesco Finest English Breakfast teabags, and in times past when in England he has paid £2.60 for a box of 80 of them. Based on a rate of €1.15 for £1, that you might think converts to a euro price of €3.
But do you think that is how much the tea actually costs him when he is shopping in the Republic? It most certainly is not.
“Back in Ireland I have to pay €4.35,” he says. “By my reckoning, that’s around 40 per cent of a surcharge. It’s good tea and I enjoy drinking it, but that 40 per cent leaves a very bad taste,” he says.
‘Tesco Ireland and Tesco UK are two separate businesses with different operating models, including pricing strategies. While the product itself is the same, the cost of selling it in Ireland is higher than in the UK’
— Tesco statement
He wrote to Tesco asking what explanation the retailer could offer for selling the same products from the same producers in the same packaging, but at very different prices.
In response, an email from Tesco told him that he could “be assured that our buyers work hard to secure the best possible prices for our customers, and we pass on any cost-reductions as soon as we can. I’ve fully logged your comments so they can be reviewed by the relevant teams,” it said, before concluding with another assurance that his “feedback is really appreciated, as it helps us continue to improve our service”.
Keen-eyed readers will note that none of the questions he actually asked were answered. He notes that “currency, taxation and duty differences can account for some of it, but the biggest part is because of inadequate competition”.
He reached out to us to see whether we could find out more, so we gave it a whirl.
We put his query to Tesco and received the following statement.
“Tesco Ireland and Tesco UK are two separate businesses with different operating models, including pricing strategies. While the product itself is the same, the cost of selling it in Ireland is higher than in the UK. Ireland is a much smaller market with lower volumes, higher distribution and operating costs (labour, energy, rent, insurance), and a different regulatory and tax environment (higher rates of VAT and excise). We are committed to providing customers with value on their shop through the powerful combination of Clubcard Prices and Aldi Price Match.”
