Several published reports from CBC News Investigations found that grocers short-weighting packaged meat and poultry is common, spread across Canada and long-standing. 

And though the Canadian Food Investigation Agency was satisfied to let retailers deal with the short-weight issues on their own, it did take one step with the release of a new web page to help consumers know more about the law and what they can do about it. 

A January 9 CBC report showed how short-weighting happens, most commonly with the inclusion of packaging materials in the quoted weight. The CBC report included examples from consumers and found underweight meat at four of seven stores in which it conducted its own “test shopping.” 

The story also described how the CFIA contacted the retailer, but did not investigate further, accepting that the retailer said it had identified and corrected the problem. 

During the height of the anti-grocer campaigns of 2024, multiple consumers shared their own experiences via social media of meat and other packaged goods containing less product than shown on the label. 

Responsibility for these practices lies with the CFIA. In its most recent Food Fraud Annual Report, the CFIA tested 54 fish samples to determine if packaged weight stated on the label accurately represented the contents of the package. Eight of the 54 samples (15%) were found to be incorrectly labelled. Four of those eight were packaged and labelled at retail. 

CFIA does not publish inspection data specific to retailers in the report, but later told CBC that it conducted 125 inspections for food weight accuracy in Canadian grocery stores in the 2023-24 fiscal year. 

In addition to the 125 inspections across Canada’s roughly 8,000 to 10,000 grocery stores, there is now a new web page, “Under-weight and under-filled food products: 5 things to know and how to report it”, launched less than two weeks after the first CBC story. 

In addition, a class action suit was filed in British Columbia on January 9, alleging Loblaws, Walmart and Sobeys of ongoing underweight meat sales. That suit has not yet been certified.