Atlanta-based TikToker Jimmy Wrigg is taking Kroger to task for “short-weighting” deli meats and cheeses.
“What the hell is going on in the Kroger deli?” he asks in a June post watched close to 502,000 times. “This is ripping people off.”
Wrigg concluded that Cincinnati-based Kroger was cheating customers at Georgia stores, marking bags of meat and cheese at 12 ounces when they weighed less.
The Enquirer tested Wrigg’s results in Greater Cincinnati. Our results did not match his.
‘Unbelievable!’ ‘Unacceptable!’ TikToker says of short-weighted bags
On social media, Wrigg bills himself as a “consumer protection advocate.” He’s posted about short-weighted products at Walmart, Sam’s Club, Dollar General and Aldi in addition to Kroger.
On about 10 Kroger-related posts on TikTok, where he has more than 167,000 followers, he weighs bags of prepackaged deli meat and cheese, marked as 12 ounces selling for $5.
He holds up ones that come up short: 10.8 ounces, 10.6, 9.5. A 6.7-ounce bag of American cheese inspired one animated rant. “This is unbelievable! It’s unacceptable!”
In some videos, he tells followers to demand an explanation from Kroger. “Tag them in the comments and make this video go!” he said in one.
8 of 9 local Krogers gave customers extra
To test Wrigg’s claims, The Enquirer bought 20 bags of deli meat and cheese, all marked as 12 ounces and all but two selling for $5. (My editor didn’t read the memo to buy only the grab-and-go pre-priced bags.)
We weighed each, using two food scales and keeping the product in the bag. That’s how Wrigg weighed his samples.
To cut to the chase: Just one of nine stores where we shopped on June 9-10 sold short-weighted deli meat or cheese. And only one sample came in way short. (Sorry, Oakley store, we’re outing you.)
Eight stores gave customers more than advertised:
At the Hartwell store, we bought bags marked as 0.7 of a pound, the equivalent of 11.2 ounces. The yellow American cheese came in at 11.6 ounces and the roast beef at 11.9.
Oakley was the outlier. A bag of white American cheese marked as 12 ounces there weighed 11.8 ounces. A bag of salami marked 12 ounces weighed 7.7 ounces on one of our scales and 7.8 on the other.
Kroger has yet to respond
In his videos, Wrigg said Kroger did not respond to his questions or make a statement about his findings.
Kroger likewise did not respond to Enquirer questions about Wrigg’s reports or our test.
An Atlanta TV reporter also tested Wrigg’s reports, with mixed results.
Wrigg did not respond to The Enquirer’s request for an interview.
Contributors included Enquirer reporters Alex Coolidge, David Ferrara, Erin Glynn, Jolene Almendarez, Randy Tucker, Victoria Moorwood and Carly Gist, along with editor Carl Weiser.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Does your Kroger deli bag really weigh 12 ounces? Enquirer weighs in
Reporting by Patricia Gallagher Newberry, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Patricia Gallagher Newberry, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
