More Sauce Than Chicken? Checkers Pulls Own-Brand Product After Customer’s Viral Weigh-In

A Checkers customer ordered a Ready to Braai Smokey Stuffed Chicken Breast. What they got was more sauce than chickenand a viral social media post that prompted a product recall.

The Complaint

The customer took to social media on 20 February after ordering through Checkers Sixty60.

Upon opening the pack, they noticed something seemed off. The container appeared to contain more sweet barbecue sauce than chicken breast.

They decided to test their suspicion.

• Chicken (including stuffing): 246g 49% of total weight

• Sauce: 264g 51% of total weight

The packaging stated, in fine print, that the product contains 62% chicken breast.

“I think it might also be illegal for you to not stipulate that more than 50% of the stated weight is liquid marinade,” the customer wrote.

The Legal Framework

The concern relates to South Africa’s Quantitative Ingredient Declaration (QUID) rules, part of Regulation 26 of the Regulations Relating to the Labelling and Advertising of Foodstuffs (R146).

Under these rules:

• The percentage of an ingredient must be declared when it’s emphasised in the product namelike “chicken” in a chicken-based meal

• The declared percentage must reflect the ingredient’s weight at manufacture relative to all ingredients

• Figures must be rounded to the nearest 1%, or 0.5% if below 5%

The Response

Following the complaint, Shoprite Holdings confirmed the product had been withdrawn from sale.

The supplier conducted an internal investigation and identified a production processing error at the manufacturing facility.

The product is made using a manual process involving cutting and portioning chicken. During this process, smaller portions were accidentally included in some packs.

Because the issue didn’t affect the entire batch, the retailer couldn’t confirm the exact number of units impacted.

The Fix

Corrective measures have been implemented to strengthen quality control and prevent a repeat.

Shoprite is also working on improving transparency for online shoppers by making full ingredient lists available for all private-label products sold online.

Customers dissatisfied with items bought via Sixty60 can submit a claim in the app and receive an instant refund to their bank account or as app credit.

The Bigger Picture

Despite the controversy, Shoprite’s broader performance remains strong:

• Merchandise sales: Up 7.2% to R136.8 billion

• Checkers/Checkers Hyper: Up 8.9%

• Sixty60 sales: Up 34.6% to R11.9 billion, available from 875 stores

The Bottom Line

A customer weighed their chicken. The scales revealed a problem. The company pulled the product.

It’s a reminder that in the age of social media, anyone can be a food safety inspectorand that retailers ignore complaints at their peril.

{Source: BusinessTech}

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