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Another video has emerged online showing a piece of fresh salmon sold at NTUC FairPrice supermarket labelled incorrectly.

The video caption said the salmon was sold at a FairPrice outlet in Ang Mo Kio on Feb. 7.

The price tag showed the FairPrice Xtra logo, which indicated that the product was sold at the outlet at AMK Hub.

Weight discrepancy

The label on the packet read 296g and retailed for S$9.15.

But the actual weight, inclusive of the packaging as measured on the vegetable weighing scale in store, was just 176g.

The fish should have cost S$5.40 at most.

The discrepancy resulted in the weight of the fish being inflated by 68 per cent.

The weighing scale used was the one located in the supermarket to weigh vegetables.

FairPrice response

In response to Mothership.sg's queries, a spokesperson for FairPrice attributed the cause of the mislabelling to "human error".

The spokesperson said:

Based on the initial assessment from the video, the mislabelling incident which occurred at our store at FairPrice Xtra @ Ang Mo Kio Hub is likely caused by human error. We ask that the customer who posted the video to contact us to provide further information so that we may conduct a more comprehensive investigation. Regardless, we apologise for the public concern this might have caused and agree this should not have occurred.

Across all our FairPrice supermarkets, FairPrice Finest and FairPrice Xtra outlets, all our weighing scales are independently calibrated by authorised vendors certified by the authorities. The scales are checked on a yearly basis and undergo maintenance twice a year, thereafter, it is affixed with its respective certification dates.

In addition, as an added preventive measure, we have instituted additional protocols where all our stores will need to conduct daily checks on the scales before the start of business. Fresh products that have already been labelled will also have the weight rechecked to ensure label accuracy.

We kindly request that customers who find any labelling discrepancy of products to approach our store staff immediately so that we may rectify the issue in a timely manner. To safeguard the interests of our customers, we have in place a policy where we will honour a full refund or exchange for products that have been inaccurately labelled.

Background

With inflation eating away at consumer purchasing power, a woman in Singapore bought boneless chicken breast meat from NTUC FairPrice and found out its actual weight was only 165g when it was labelled as 224g.

FairPrice responded by urging customers to contact them directly in the event products are mislabelled so as to avoid any misunderstanding and unnecessary public alarm.

FairPrice added in its statement: "We understand another video with a price label pasted over an erroneously printed label was posted by the customer suggesting possible dishonest practices."

"While we appreciate feedback for improvement, we do not condone any unethical business practices and take such allegations very seriously. We will safeguard the integrity of our reputation against false allegations if necessary."

As a follow-up to the brouhaha, random spot checks conducted by Shin Min Daily News found that FairPrice, Sheng Siong, and Cold Storage did not overcharge consumers.

But Sheng Siong and Cold Storage provided more chicken meat than the labels indicated.

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