0:00:02 > 0:00:05There's a lot we don't know about the food on our plates
0:00:05 > 0:00:08and the shops and the labels don't always tell you the whole story.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12The packaging, I think, is very misleading
0:00:12 > 0:00:16and it can give people the impression of getting more than they're actually getting.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19Whether you're staying in or going out,
0:00:19 > 0:00:23you've told us that you can feel ripped off by the promises made
0:00:23 > 0:00:25for what you eat and what you pay for it.
0:00:26 > 0:00:31I always say when I get to the till, "Never! How much?"
0:00:31 > 0:00:36From claims that don't stack up to the secrets behind the packaging,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39we uncover the truth about Britain's food
0:00:39 > 0:00:44so you can be sure you're getting what you expect at the right price.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48Your food, your money. This is Rip Off Britain.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53Hello and welcome to a special series of Rip Off Britain
0:00:53 > 0:00:58where we're getting our teeth into anything and everything to do with the food that we eat
0:00:58 > 0:01:03and revealing the truth about some of the products that millions of us tuck into every day.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06As you can see, our team has been very busy
0:01:06 > 0:01:09going through all the e-mails and letters that you sent us on this.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13It's pretty obvious that you don't always feel that you know enough
0:01:13 > 0:01:15about the things that you're buying or indeed
0:01:15 > 0:01:18that the key details to help you make a properly informed choice
0:01:18 > 0:01:20are as clear as they should be.
0:01:20 > 0:01:25The way products can be marketed or labelled only adds to the confusion
0:01:25 > 0:01:29so today we'll be finding out the reality of what's in your shopping basket.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31Get ready for some surprises
0:01:31 > 0:01:35because not everything you take to the tills may be quite as it seems.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38Coming up - when only less than half of it needs to be meat,
0:01:38 > 0:01:42what else is in the great British banger?
0:01:42 > 0:01:46It might say 50% meat but that might not be good quality meat.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50And tough men and women but even tougher packaging.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54Why can some of our foods be so hard to open?
0:01:54 > 0:01:55It's more than just a daily annoyance
0:01:55 > 0:01:58because if you're living alone and can't access the food,
0:01:58 > 0:02:01it's a public health issue.
0:02:01 > 0:02:06As our household budgets shrink and our grocery bills rise,
0:02:06 > 0:02:08it's only natural that we want to get value for money
0:02:08 > 0:02:12and that we're shopping around to find the best supermarket deals.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16When you're trying to choose between products that are different weights or sizes,
0:02:16 > 0:02:20it isn't always easy to see at a glance which product is actually cheaper,
0:02:20 > 0:02:24and because of the way some supermarkets display their products,
0:02:24 > 0:02:28what should be a simple comparison can turn into a complicated maths test,
0:02:28 > 0:02:33meaning sometimes it's virtually impossible to know if you're getting a good deal.
0:02:34 > 0:02:41Recent figures suggest almost 80% of us are now shopping around between different supermarkets
0:02:41 > 0:02:43to get the best price for our groceries.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47I never used to compare prices but I do now.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51I take particular notice not just of the price but the portion,
0:02:51 > 0:02:55how much it is per portion. It's usually on there.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57But in order to be able to shop around,
0:02:57 > 0:03:01you've got to be able to compare the cost of the food you're buying
0:03:01 > 0:03:06and in fact there's a law that tells big shops exactly how to display their prices.
0:03:07 > 0:03:12They must clearly show on the shelf or on a label the price per unit,
0:03:12 > 0:03:16say 66.7p per hundred grams,
0:03:16 > 0:03:19alongside the cost of the whole pack you're looking at.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22This should make it much easier to compare what you're paying
0:03:22 > 0:03:25between the packets of different sizes,
0:03:25 > 0:03:27but that's not always what happens.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31The problem arises when, on exactly the same type of product,
0:03:31 > 0:03:36the supermarkets use different units on labels right next to each other.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38So for example, these loose apples from Tesco
0:03:38 > 0:03:40are £2.15 per kilo.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45The price label on the shelf says they're 98p per pound.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49But how do you compare them with these Granny Smiths?
0:03:49 > 0:03:53They're £1.95 for the bag
0:03:53 > 0:03:56but this time the unit price says they're 39p each.
0:03:58 > 0:04:04So Tesco is expecting you to compare the cost per apple with the cost per pound.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08Not quite comparing apples and pears but beyond most of us all the same.
0:04:09 > 0:04:14And we found plenty of similar examples in other supermarkets,
0:04:14 > 0:04:16so many in fact that we've brought a few of them along
0:04:16 > 0:04:20to the world-famous Bury Market in Lancashire.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23We've set up a stall with some real supermarket products and their prices
0:04:23 > 0:04:28so we can test how many of you can work out the best deals on offer.
0:04:29 > 0:04:34First up, these two items on sale at Tesco.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38The box of Shredded Wheat Original is priced at £2.09
0:04:38 > 0:04:41and the Shredded Wheat Bitesize at £2.49.
0:04:41 > 0:04:46The Original Shredded Wheat has a unit price of 13.1p each,
0:04:46 > 0:04:48ie per biscuit,
0:04:48 > 0:04:52whereas the box of Bitesize Shredded Wheat has a unit price
0:04:52 > 0:04:56of 49.8p per 100g.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00So can these passing shoppers tell us which is the best value?
0:05:00 > 0:05:052.49 and 2.09. Shredded Wheat is 2.09 and Shredded Wheat is...
0:05:08 > 0:05:12Very confusing. I can't find how much is in it.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14Where's the grams on that?
0:05:17 > 0:05:20I can't find the weight of them.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24It seems that all these shoppers are none the wiser.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26It is pretty well impossible to work that one out.
0:05:26 > 0:05:31That's per piece of Shredded Wheat and that one's per 100g.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35There's not enough information on the packet, is there?
0:05:35 > 0:05:41I can't see how you can figure it out when one is giving you the price per 100g
0:05:41 > 0:05:46and the other one is giving you the price per individual product.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49The Shredded Wheat Bitesize are in fact better value
0:05:49 > 0:05:52but in order to work this out,
0:05:52 > 0:05:57we'd have to find out how much a single Shredded Wheat Original biscuit weighs,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00information that's not easy to find on the box.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Next, some herbs on sale at Marks & Spencer.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06These two jars may look pretty similar
0:06:06 > 0:06:08and they're even the same price
0:06:08 > 0:06:12but actually one is slightly better value than the other.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16Let's see if the people of Bury can spot the difference
0:06:16 > 0:06:19using the information they'd see on the supermarket shelf.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23One is labelled 82.8p per 10g,
0:06:23 > 0:06:29whereas the other is labelled £11.46 per 100g.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33I think that's the best buy. But aren't they the same?
0:06:33 > 0:06:37- It is confusing, isn't it? - It is very confusing.
0:06:37 > 0:06:38The best value?
0:06:38 > 0:06:42So that times ten. That's the better value.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44Takes a bit of working out, doesn't it?
0:06:44 > 0:06:46In fact, they're all wrong.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48The Italian seasoning is the better value.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52There's a fair bit more in the jar and it's cheaper per 100g
0:06:52 > 0:06:57but it's not as straightforward as it looks, or at least not for everyone.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01Obviously that, Italian herbs, isn't it? See, I'm not from Bury.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04I'm from Wigan. We have everything figured out.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08But for those of us not from Wigan, it can be a tricky business.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12Definitely a deliberate ploy from supermarkets just to take your money.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17There's no way you can work this out when you're doing your shopping. You haven't got the time.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20They should be more honest and more transparent.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23I think all supermarkets should have a standard,
0:07:23 > 0:07:25whatever it is per 100g,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28or if you're buying liquids whatever it is per litre,
0:07:28 > 0:07:32and then you've got a good idea whether you're paying over the odds
0:07:32 > 0:07:35or whether you're getting a decent deal on it.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40And this is exactly what the consumer magazine Which? has been campaigning for.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42With unit pricing the problem we found is
0:07:42 > 0:07:47that it's just inconsistent and often not clear. What we're saying
0:07:47 > 0:07:51is that people need to be able to know the price they're paying for food to get the best value.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55We've launched our Price It Right campaign and we've challenged all of the ten major supermarkets
0:07:55 > 0:07:58to sign up to a set of voluntary commitments.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01All of the ten major supermarkets should sign up to unit pricing.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05If they care about their customers and their customers are telling us it's important,
0:08:05 > 0:08:06they need to do this.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09And with a little prodding by the Government,
0:08:09 > 0:08:13all ten main chains have now agreed to take action.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18But only six have pledged to include the unit price of multi-buys of the same item.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24So just how widespread are these confusing price labels?
0:08:24 > 0:08:26To find out, we went to some more supermarkets
0:08:26 > 0:08:28and did some shopping ourselves.
0:08:28 > 0:08:33We sent researchers to snap pictures of the labels in three stores
0:08:33 > 0:08:35that Which?'s research initially highlighted,
0:08:35 > 0:08:37M&S, Iceland and ASDA.
0:08:39 > 0:08:40First, M&S.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44We found that these slicing tomatoes were priced per tomato.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47The ones next to them were priced per kilo
0:08:47 > 0:08:49so you'd struggle to know which was cheapest.
0:08:50 > 0:08:55We also found these Persil tablets were priced per tablet whereas
0:08:55 > 0:08:58the Persil powder next to them on the shelf was priced per kilo.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00Next we visited Iceland,
0:09:00 > 0:09:05where we found these Cadbury Mini Fingers priced per unit
0:09:05 > 0:09:11but the Mini Maryland packs close by were priced per 100g.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15And this six-pack of Vimto is priced per unit
0:09:15 > 0:09:19but the six-pack of Dr Pepper was priced per 100ml.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22It was the same story in ASDA.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24The green tea with lemon was priced per tea bag
0:09:24 > 0:09:28whereas the camomile tea was priced per 100g.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32So why don't the supermarkets just make life easy for us
0:09:32 > 0:09:33and use the same units?
0:09:34 > 0:09:40We asked all the big supermarkets where we'd seen confusing price labels why they don't sort this out
0:09:40 > 0:09:44so shoppers can be sure they're getting the best value for money.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48Well, they all told us that they're committed
0:09:48 > 0:09:52to providing customers with the clearest information possible
0:09:52 > 0:09:56and most are confident that they already do that.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00M&S, for example, said both selling and unit prices:
0:10:07 > 0:10:10Iceland stressed they take their legal responsibilities on this
0:10:10 > 0:10:13very seriously and they pride themselves on
0:10:13 > 0:10:16the clarity and transparency of their pricing
0:10:16 > 0:10:20and they've now changed the price tickets on the examples we highlighted.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22ASDA have done the same,
0:10:22 > 0:10:26stressing they are only human so occasionally do make mistakes.
0:10:26 > 0:10:31They told us their systems and procedures keep such examples to an absolute minimum
0:10:31 > 0:10:36but if they do get it wrong, they put their hand up and say sorry.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38And Tesco told us they have:
0:10:43 > 0:10:47..to ensure they're giving the clearest information possible.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50They're now looking specifically at how best to label items
0:10:50 > 0:10:53that are sold both individually and in packs:
0:11:00 > 0:11:06And the confusion around unit pricing is also an issue that the regulators have started looking into.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10John Powell is a retail expert from Manchester University.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14The Office Of Fair Trading have been doing a lot of work on pricing
0:11:14 > 0:11:18and they have done studies that set out a set of guidelines
0:11:18 > 0:11:23that they've put together in conjunction with major retailers and consumer organisations,
0:11:23 > 0:11:28and they feel by having a much more transparent process of pricing,
0:11:28 > 0:11:30it will help customers make an informed choice.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34So with a bit of luck, over the coming months there will be
0:11:34 > 0:11:38fewer occasions when to work out whether you're getting the best deal
0:11:38 > 0:11:40you'll need all day and a maths degree!
0:11:42 > 0:11:45But in the meantime, do keep sending us any examples
0:11:45 > 0:11:48you think are confusing or where you feel you've lost out.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56There are few foods that are more quintessentially British
0:11:56 > 0:11:58than the good old British banger.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00Over the course of a year most of us buy quite a few of them
0:12:00 > 0:12:03which is presumably why, between us, every day
0:12:03 > 0:12:06we eat nearly four million sausage-based meals,
0:12:06 > 0:12:10so it's pretty clear that the sausage is close to our hearts.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14How many of us know what actually goes into our bangers?
0:12:14 > 0:12:21For that special celebration with friends or that romantic dinner for two, what do you think of?
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Steak and red wine, French style? Or maybe something Italian?
0:12:24 > 0:12:26But bangers and mash?!
0:12:26 > 0:12:30For eight years I was a naval officer making charts around the world
0:12:30 > 0:12:35and every restaurant you visit is indicative of the type of area you're in.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39You come back to restaurants in Britain and it struck me
0:12:39 > 0:12:42that chain restaurants are the same wherever you are
0:12:42 > 0:12:44and none of them really serve great British food.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48So now Max Mason is a man on a mission to restore
0:12:48 > 0:12:52what he considers the neglected jewel in Britain's culinary crown.
0:12:52 > 0:12:57It's my campaign that instead of chicken tikka masala being elevated as the great British dish,
0:12:57 > 0:13:03we should have sausage and mash back as the great British favourite that should be celebrated everywhere.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07And Max is a patriot prepared to put his money where his mouth is.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10After leaving the navy, he started a restaurant in Oxford
0:13:10 > 0:13:13dedicated to nothing but the great British banger.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17The Big Bang now serves an astonishing 40 varieties of sausage.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21On the plate in front of me we have three different types of sausage.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24A turkey and cranberry sausage, a pork and chestnut sausage
0:13:24 > 0:13:26and a wild winter game sausage.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28All of these meats are locally sourced
0:13:28 > 0:13:32from within 20 miles of Oxford and they're all bursting with flavour.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36Unlike you'd find in a supermarket, these aren't 60% meat.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39These are 85-90% meat and, for me, that's great British food.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42But many of the sausages we buy every day
0:13:42 > 0:13:48are likely to be a world away from the meaty marvels that Max is so passionate about.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51Now, just because it says pork on the label outside,
0:13:51 > 0:13:57doesn't mean to say necessarily that it's all pork on the inside of your sausage.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01So what does "meat" mean when it comes to a sausage?
0:14:01 > 0:14:04What actually constitutes meat is a bit of a grey area.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06What the public think of as meat
0:14:06 > 0:14:08is what the industry calls visible lean.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11So a pork chop is about 90% visible lean.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14You eat the eye of the meat and then there's just the fat and bone.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18But meat that goes into sausages can be made up of things like fat
0:14:18 > 0:14:21and other connective tissues up to sort of 30%.
0:14:21 > 0:14:26So it might say 50% meat but that might not be good quality meat.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30So what do shoppers, so many of whom buy sausages every week,
0:14:30 > 0:14:34actually think about the fact that their banger may contain so little actual meat?
0:14:34 > 0:14:37- Do you girls ever eat sausages?- Yes.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40- Do you like sausages?- Yes.- You do? Which sausages do you eat?
0:14:40 > 0:14:43- Pork, beef, what?- Pork.- Pork.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45When you buy your pork sausages,
0:14:45 > 0:14:49how much of that sausage do you expect to be pork?
0:14:50 > 0:14:55- Er, 100%?- 80%.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59- Over half.- Over half? - Yes. Yeah, you'd hope so.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01At least 85%.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05- Er, 50.- 50%?- Yes.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07You're a bit closer to what you're likely to get.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11You only have to have a minimum of 42% pork.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15- But then that's not real sausage. - Yeah. It's not a sausage.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18- That's disgusting.- You think so? - Yes.
0:15:18 > 0:15:23- Not even half?- Not even half. - What's in there?
0:15:23 > 0:15:25Rusk. All sorts of stuff.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29- Does that bother you?- Yeah. - Puts you off.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32If I want to be eating pork, I want to be eating pork,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34not anything else basically.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38Supermarkets' ordinary own-brand bangers
0:15:38 > 0:15:41typically have around 50-60% meat.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43Their value ranges are a bit less
0:15:43 > 0:15:49and not unsurprisingly their premium ones are meatier, up to 97% pork.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51But you might be surprised that Richmond,
0:15:51 > 0:15:54Britain's biggest-selling sausage brand,
0:15:54 > 0:15:56only have the legal minimum for pork sausages
0:15:56 > 0:15:59in several of their types of banger,
0:15:59 > 0:16:01and that's just 42% pork.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05We asked Richmond why and they told us their customers:
0:16:13 > 0:16:16Interestingly, they also insisted that:
0:16:20 > 0:16:22Hang on, you might say,
0:16:22 > 0:16:25isn't the legal minimum 42% pork in a pork sausage?
0:16:25 > 0:16:29Well, it is, or at least it is if they're labelled as pork sausages
0:16:29 > 0:16:31but if you miss out the word "pork",
0:16:31 > 0:16:35as several manufacturers including Richmond do on their packaging,
0:16:35 > 0:16:38then a lower minimum level of meat applies
0:16:38 > 0:16:41because in fact only 32% of meat is required
0:16:41 > 0:16:44for the name "sausage" to be used.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48But it's not just how much or indeed how little meat is in your sausage
0:16:48 > 0:16:53that some people worry about. It's where that meat has come from.
0:16:53 > 0:16:58Since the horse meat scandal there have been calls to make the supply chain shorter,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01in other words for the meat to pass through fewer hands
0:17:01 > 0:17:03before it actually ends up on your plate.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06While that's certainly true of beef,
0:17:06 > 0:17:09some experts fear that when it comes to pork,
0:17:09 > 0:17:14we're actually in danger of finding the supply chain becomes longer.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18The National Pig Association, who speak for many of the nation's pig farmers,
0:17:18 > 0:17:20are worried that, in a quest to keep their prices down,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23some retailers have switched back from the British pork
0:17:23 > 0:17:27that they started using after the horse meat scandal to imported meat.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30They fear that this makes it harder to keep track of where the meat comes from
0:17:30 > 0:17:33and could even lead to the problems that we saw over horse meat.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Concerns over the origins of pork
0:17:35 > 0:17:38has seen the growth of specialist suppliers like this one.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40The Ginger Pig runs a farm in North Yorkshire
0:17:40 > 0:17:43that supplies their six shops in London.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45What we've got here is a Tamworth pig.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49You can see a really distinctive copper-coloured coat.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51It's a very traditional British breed.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54It's where we get our name from, the colour.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58They take pride in the way that they rear their pigs.
0:17:58 > 0:18:03As you can see here, you have pigs that are given plenty of room to exhibit their natural behaviours.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07But clearly taking that bit of extra care costs extra too,
0:18:07 > 0:18:10which they have to pass on to consumers
0:18:10 > 0:18:12and that makes it hard to compete with supermarkets
0:18:12 > 0:18:18and is why some farmers feel that sometimes the playing field for their product seems far from level.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21A British sausage might not always be what it seems.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25You can put "British" on the packaging of something as long as it's made here.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27That doesn't mean the meat was actually produced here.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31So Britain has comparatively high standards of animal welfare
0:18:31 > 0:18:36but the meat in a British sausage might have meat from somewhere much further away
0:18:36 > 0:18:39that doesn't have very good standards of animal welfare.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42And this is where those sausages end up
0:18:42 > 0:18:45and there is no doubt that shoppers do pay a price for meat
0:18:45 > 0:18:47that can be traced literally from field to plate.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51Butcher Tom Aston insists that the price is realistic
0:18:51 > 0:18:53if what we want is a real British banger.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57These are 97-98% pork
0:18:57 > 0:19:00and we just use three different types of paprika -
0:19:00 > 0:19:04a hot paprika, a sweet paprika and a dulce paprika -
0:19:04 > 0:19:06and then we smoke it for 12 hours
0:19:06 > 0:19:08and it's filled into a natural casing.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13Moving on from them ones, we have these ones, for example.
0:19:13 > 0:19:19These would be 78% pork. We call them our Lincolnshire ones.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22It's quite a traditional breakfast one.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25These are still a high content of pork but the rusk and fillers in these ones
0:19:25 > 0:19:28make it slightly easier to eat.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31Tom, your sausages cost about £1 each. What would you say
0:19:31 > 0:19:35if I said there are some people who can make them for 20p?
0:19:35 > 0:19:37I tell you it's impossible to do that.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39How can you do it, you know?
0:19:39 > 0:19:42The packaging is going to cost more, plus the label,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45on top of the person mixing the mixture.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47Something has to give
0:19:47 > 0:19:50and it's going to be the quality or content of pork,
0:19:50 > 0:19:54hence why they're made with fillers and water and cheaper cuts of pork.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57You get what you pay for is the oldest line in the book
0:19:57 > 0:20:01but when it comes to the humble sausage, it seems truer than ever
0:20:01 > 0:20:03and passionate devotees like Max in Oxford
0:20:03 > 0:20:08are determined to keep flying the flag for the great British banger.
0:20:08 > 0:20:13I know of less than five restaurants in Britain serving solely sausage and mash at the moment
0:20:13 > 0:20:17and for me I'd be very happy if there was a sausage restaurant in every town across the land
0:20:17 > 0:20:22serving the perfect embodiment of what is a local dish - sausage and mash.
0:20:25 > 0:20:31For this series, we've been investigating an extraordinary range of issues with the food we eat
0:20:31 > 0:20:34and we've found no end of cheeky tactics and little-known facts
0:20:34 > 0:20:37about some of the things we put in our shopping baskets
0:20:37 > 0:20:40but none of what we've unearthed about what is actually on the packet
0:20:40 > 0:20:44really matters if you can't get into the packet in the first place.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47You've been there, so have I. Big or small, young or old,
0:20:47 > 0:20:54it seems sometimes we have to work a lot harder to enjoy the foods we want than we should ever expect.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59Now these four items look pretty ordinary,
0:20:59 > 0:21:03the sort of thing any of us might pop in our shopping basket.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07But if you do, some say you might have a bit of a fight on your hands.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11These products all look pretty straightforward, don't they?
0:21:11 > 0:21:15But they have all been singled out in consumer research,
0:21:15 > 0:21:17not because there's anything wrong with them
0:21:17 > 0:21:21but because they're really, really difficult to actually get into.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25Tricky plastic tabs, mysterious keys,
0:21:25 > 0:21:26jar lids that just won't budge,
0:21:26 > 0:21:32and hunting for the scissors when all you want is a hot buttered crumpet.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34I just don't know what's wrong with me.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37I find getting into any of these products almost impossible.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41Maybe I need to get to the gym and pump a bit more iron, certainly for this one.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45Well, I might, but this lot certainly don't.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48While some of us lightweights might struggle to open these products,
0:21:48 > 0:21:51we thought we'd see how quickly competitors from
0:21:51 > 0:21:55the National Amateur Body-Builders' Association would manage it.
0:21:55 > 0:22:00First up, their Mr Universe 2012, Andy Polhill.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04We need a bit of muscle so he looks like our man.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08He's starting off confident.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14But it's not long before he's having to give it everything he's got.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18And all that strength does seem to do the trick.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26How's that? Bit messy?
0:22:26 > 0:22:30As you would expect, not a bad overall time for Mr Universe,
0:22:30 > 0:22:33but even he didn't find it a walk in the park.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37Yes, a lot trickier. Especially the packaging on the crumpets.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41It was very slippy and resulted in them exploding all over the table.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45Next up, one of the female contestants tries her luck.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53I can't get into it!
0:22:55 > 0:22:56Yay.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58CROWD CHEERS
0:22:59 > 0:23:01Yes, I'm in.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05Oh, no. I've not done this for years.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11Oh, I'm rocking.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14Count me down. Any second now.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16Nearly there.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25Yay! Definitely hard for older people.
0:23:25 > 0:23:30My mum and dad certainly wouldn't manage the meat one, definitely not.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32Her time is not quite so impressive,
0:23:32 > 0:23:36although to be fair you might not really expect any sort of struggle
0:23:36 > 0:23:39when faced with a few everyday food items.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43And finally, a competitor from the over-50s category.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46He's kicking off with the soup.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50Oh, dear. It's gone everywhere.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56He found this one quite a struggle but finally he's in.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59Next it's those crumpets.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01Not even trying to rip the packet open is working.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03He's given up.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06And he's not having much luck with the jam either.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12And the corned beef's defeated him as well.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14Not a cat in hell's chance, mate.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17So it seems even the strongest amongst us
0:24:17 > 0:24:20can still find these foods rather tricky to open
0:24:20 > 0:24:24and according to the research from Which? magazine,
0:24:24 > 0:24:28tough packaging can be more than just a mild irritation.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32Four in ten of those asked said they'd hurt themselves battling against it
0:24:32 > 0:24:37and one in five considered their food choices to be limited by complicated packaging,
0:24:37 > 0:24:41which can be a particular problem for the growing number of people
0:24:41 > 0:24:44who live alone and have nobody on hand to help.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48Alaster Yoxall is a packaging expert with a particular concern
0:24:48 > 0:24:51over the effects of this on the ageing population.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53It's more than just a daily annoyance
0:24:53 > 0:24:56because if you're living alone and you can't access the food,
0:24:56 > 0:24:58it's a public health issue.
0:24:58 > 0:25:03You're not actually getting the nutrients and the food that you need to be able to...
0:25:03 > 0:25:06So people could be malnourished
0:25:06 > 0:25:09because they can't get into the food that they need to.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15And although he says there are those in the £11-billion-a-year packaging industry
0:25:15 > 0:25:17trying to make their wrapping easier to open,
0:25:17 > 0:25:20he's not always impressed with the results.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25One product that I've tested where people have tried to make
0:25:25 > 0:25:28an easy-open feature is McLelland cheese brand.
0:25:28 > 0:25:33It's actually labelled with a new easy-open feature.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36When I tested it, it really wasn't very easy to open at all.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39A lot of the older people I tested it on couldn't actually open it.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42The cheese company wouldn't agree with that,
0:25:42 > 0:25:46telling us their new resealable packs were specifically:
0:25:49 > 0:25:51And designed so that you can:
0:25:55 > 0:25:58We also contacted the manufacturers of the other products
0:25:58 > 0:26:01that have been singled out as hard to open.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04Princes, who make most of the corned beef sold in the UK,
0:26:04 > 0:26:08said that although they have tried different types of packaging,
0:26:08 > 0:26:11the keys they use now are the most convenient
0:26:11 > 0:26:14and make it easier to remove the beef from the can.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18Soup makers Glorious! said it isn't easy coming up with packaging
0:26:18 > 0:26:21that combines keeping food fresh and safely sealed
0:26:21 > 0:26:23with being easy to open
0:26:23 > 0:26:26but while their constantly looking at ways to improve,
0:26:26 > 0:26:27after selling millions of pots,
0:26:27 > 0:26:30only nine people have told them they were hard to open.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35And jam makers Hartley's simply said they welcome feedback
0:26:35 > 0:26:39so they can offer consumers the best products for their needs.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43Now, we'll come back to the crumpets,
0:26:43 > 0:26:46but experts like Alaster have helped design new ways
0:26:46 > 0:26:49to make things simpler, like this easy-open jam jar lid.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54The outside of the lid moves separately from the plate.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58So what that does, it means the screw thing on the jar
0:26:58 > 0:27:02is actually doing the work, so it pops off really simply.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06You're not fighting against the vacuum inside the jar
0:27:06 > 0:27:09which is what you do with a more traditional lid.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11Good idea.
0:27:11 > 0:27:16So should the industry as a whole be doing more to make our lives just that little bit easier?
0:27:16 > 0:27:19Dick Searle speaks for Britain's packaging manufacturers,
0:27:19 > 0:27:23so will he open up more easily than some of their products?
0:27:23 > 0:27:28I suppose people watching would say, "Why is packaging so difficult to get into?"
0:27:28 > 0:27:31In terms of difficult to open, I'd challenge that all of it is difficult to open.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33There are some that are difficult to open.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36The Which? report mentioned the tin can, which has been around for 200 years
0:27:36 > 0:27:38and we do have things like can openers.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42I think some people have forgotten how to use implements, to be honest with you.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46Things that are used on the go have been designed so that you can get into them.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48Some things which you use at home,
0:27:48 > 0:27:53then a pair of scissors in your kitchen doesn't seem unreasonable to me.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55So it's a balancing act always
0:27:55 > 0:28:00because the first role of packaging is to protect, to secure, to preserve.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02But of course you've got to be able to get into it.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04Not much use if you can't.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07So it's a nice balancing act between making it good enough
0:28:07 > 0:28:10to ensure it gets in one piece into the customer's home
0:28:10 > 0:28:15and is reasonably easy to open. Have we got it completely right? Of course we haven't.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18I do think the industry ought to take a bit of responsibility
0:28:18 > 0:28:21when you're putting forward food of any kind.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23Well, it's a fiercely competitive industry.
0:28:23 > 0:28:28We operate on pretty thin margins so clearly pricing is an issue.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31There aren't many people who pay more for packaging than they need to.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34I have tried to open this today on camera and I can't.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37So have a go because you're the man of experience.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40The first thing I would say is they're crumpets.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44Crumpets are going to be toasted so crumpets will be in the kitchen
0:28:44 > 0:28:47so why wouldn't you use a pair of scissors to open the pack?
0:28:47 > 0:28:50I might be in an office whereby I can pop it in the toaster.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53A lot of offices these days are a bit self-catering.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56- Yeah, but even then they would have a pair of scissors.- Not necessarily.
0:28:56 > 0:29:01- That's the point.- I could maybe want my crumpet the way it is.- Good luck!
0:29:01 > 0:29:04Have another go and see if you can do it.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07- Have you tried to do this before? - No, I haven't actually.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09- I could have cheated, couldn't I? - You could.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16- You did it. Good man. - One mangled crumpet as well.
0:29:16 > 0:29:21No beating that one. But there is good news on the crumpet front.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25Manufacturers Warburtons say to keep them fresh for as long as possible they are:
0:29:31 > 0:29:35But they do recognise that that can make them a bit difficult to open so here's the good news.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39From March their packaging will have a scissor mark added to give:
0:29:41 > 0:29:45So if, like our body-builders, it's something you've ever struggled with,
0:29:45 > 0:29:47now you know exactly what you need to do.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54Still to come on Rip Off Britain -
0:29:54 > 0:29:56why this man asked us to find out the reason
0:29:56 > 0:29:59there is so much water added to some of our meat.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04I was shocked to see just how much liquid was coming out of the packet
0:30:04 > 0:30:07and it just never seemed to stop.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12I'm sure many of us can sometimes be swayed by labels on foods
0:30:12 > 0:30:15which seem to suggest that they're healthy.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19Words like "natural", "light", or even scientific-sounding phrases
0:30:19 > 0:30:23like "probiotic" can be sometimes what persuade us to buy them,
0:30:23 > 0:30:28but they may not mean precisely what you assume,
0:30:28 > 0:30:32as marketing professor Isabelle Szmigin explains.
0:30:32 > 0:30:36We need to be very careful about the kinds of health claims
0:30:36 > 0:30:39that are made on the products that we buy in supermarkets.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43We live in a world where we tend to think that something that says it's natural
0:30:43 > 0:30:47is going to be better for us and I think we need to get out of that mindset
0:30:47 > 0:30:50and remember that the world has produced many additives,
0:30:50 > 0:30:55chemically-produced ingredients, that have actually been very good for us.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59The very fact that food can be preserved is a positive thing.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03And what about other words which we associate with healthy eating?
0:31:03 > 0:31:09Words like "light", "lighter", are particularly treacherous for consumers
0:31:09 > 0:31:13because these are words that we make assumptions about.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16Very often we think that something that says it is light
0:31:16 > 0:31:20is actually going to have less calories. This is a huge mistake.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22Take words like "low-fat".
0:31:22 > 0:31:25They are very strictly controlled by the Food Standards Agency
0:31:25 > 0:31:31so if a product says low-fat, it has to have 3% or less fat in it,
0:31:31 > 0:31:34whereas the use of the words "light" or "lighter"
0:31:34 > 0:31:39can actually mean that there is six or seven times more fat
0:31:39 > 0:31:42than in a product that is labelled "low-fat".
0:31:42 > 0:31:47What about words like "probiotics" and their so-called good bacteria?
0:31:47 > 0:31:52In 2012 the probiotic industry suffered a major blow
0:31:52 > 0:31:58when the European Food Standards Authority ruled on something like 800 different claims from the industry
0:31:58 > 0:32:00in terms of the good that they would do
0:32:00 > 0:32:04and they found that there just was not enough evidence of this.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06It doesn't mean that probiotics are bad for us
0:32:06 > 0:32:10but we should be aware that we do not have the conclusive evidence
0:32:10 > 0:32:13to say that they are actually going to do us any good.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19If I was to ask you what is in a chicken breast,
0:32:19 > 0:32:21you would probably think it was a silly trick question,
0:32:21 > 0:32:24but here's someone who was so surprised and shocked really
0:32:24 > 0:32:28at what else had been added to that, that he wrote to us to find out why.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34You know the saying water, water everywhere?
0:32:34 > 0:32:37In fact, as you remember from your science classes at school,
0:32:37 > 0:32:40it covers 71% of the Earth's surface.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44But as Mark from Dorset has discovered,
0:32:44 > 0:32:46rather more of it than he was expecting seems to be
0:32:46 > 0:32:49filtering down into the food he's buying.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53Pork sausages with added water.
0:32:53 > 0:32:58Honey roast ham, which says, added water 18%.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02He first spotted it one evening when he came to cook dinner
0:33:02 > 0:33:05and took some chicken breasts out of the freezer.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08I was shocked to see just how much liquid was coming out of the packet
0:33:08 > 0:33:11and it just never seemed to stop.
0:33:11 > 0:33:13It was even more after cooking
0:33:13 > 0:33:17and yet again even more after it was cooling down.
0:33:17 > 0:33:22I was just concerned why all this liquid is in this packet basically.
0:33:22 > 0:33:27A quick look at the ingredients on the packaging and Mark discovered
0:33:27 > 0:33:31that it wasn't just plain old water that was coming out of his food.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33Upon close inspection of the ingredients, I can see
0:33:33 > 0:33:37that it mentions things like dextrose, which I know is sugar,
0:33:37 > 0:33:42and sodium as well, so it's obviously some kind of salt-sugary solution
0:33:42 > 0:33:47that's been pumped into this chicken breast to increase the weight of it.
0:33:47 > 0:33:51Mark is not alone in worrying about the amount of water in our meats.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55Recent press reports have questioned why so much can be there.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58So to find out more, we took three different chicken breasts
0:33:58 > 0:34:02to the lab of food scientist Dr Peter Maynard.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04We've got a butcher's breast of chicken,
0:34:04 > 0:34:08then we have supermarket fresh and then we have some frozen ones.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11Peter, we gave you these to test earlier on.
0:34:11 > 0:34:13Shall we start with the butcher?
0:34:13 > 0:34:17That chicken breast doesn't have a significant amount of added water,
0:34:17 > 0:34:19just a very small amount, but you would expect that
0:34:19 > 0:34:23because obviously chicken has to be washed before it can be sold to you.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26- Then we have supermarket fresh. - This one is similar.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30Again it had no particular amount of added water.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33But then what about the supermarket's frozen chicken?
0:34:33 > 0:34:37We can see just by looking at it that there's water running out of it.
0:34:37 > 0:34:40But if it's frozen, wouldn't there be more water around it anyway?
0:34:40 > 0:34:43There may well be but we tested this one
0:34:43 > 0:34:48and we found about 80% of chicken and the rest is added water.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51So 20%? Wow.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55When would the manufacturer, when they package this, put the water in?
0:34:55 > 0:34:58This would be slaughtered by the grower of the chickens
0:34:58 > 0:35:02and then the breasts would be sent to a packer
0:35:02 > 0:35:06and the packer would tumble it with water or with brine
0:35:06 > 0:35:11and maybe in extreme cases actually inject the water into the muscle
0:35:11 > 0:35:13and then package it and freeze it.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17Now if 20% of what you're paying for is water and not chicken
0:35:17 > 0:35:23that means you're getting 20% less of the meat and protein you thought you'd bought.
0:35:24 > 0:35:29You might buy 500g of chicken but 100g of it is water.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32That's a shocking figure really, isn't it?
0:35:32 > 0:35:35Just why does the food industry do it?
0:35:35 > 0:35:38While some stores and manufacturers suggest on the labelling
0:35:38 > 0:35:41that water has been added to give extra succulence,
0:35:41 > 0:35:45there are those who reckon bulking out a product with water
0:35:45 > 0:35:48is just a simple way of giving you less meat.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51The food industry add fluid to meat
0:35:51 > 0:35:53because they're going to make more money.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56If the meat is heavier, and meat is always sold by weight,
0:35:56 > 0:36:01they're going to do rather better out of it than the consumer that eats it.
0:36:01 > 0:36:05Keeping this water in the meat sometimes means adding yet more ingredients
0:36:05 > 0:36:08such as additives to retain the water content.
0:36:08 > 0:36:13In cooked meats like ham, they can use polyphosphates.
0:36:13 > 0:36:19Polyphosphates are salts which help to retain fluid
0:36:19 > 0:36:22and they're quite widely used in the industry.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26Legally, as long as the package makes it clear that water has been added,
0:36:26 > 0:36:30there are no specific legal limits as to how much water there can be,
0:36:30 > 0:36:32although when it comes to ham,
0:36:32 > 0:36:37the British Meat Processors Association told us that to meet their chartered quality standard,
0:36:37 > 0:36:41the amount of water retained during curing should be less than 15%
0:36:41 > 0:36:44or, in the case of thinly-sliced ham, 20%.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46But they did concede that it's possible
0:36:46 > 0:36:50that some lower quality products not covered by their scheme
0:36:50 > 0:36:52might be bulked out with water.
0:36:53 > 0:36:58Should we be worried about any of this extra liquid being added to our meats?
0:36:58 > 0:37:01They're not bad for you as such.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04The food safety authorities deem them safe.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08However if there's nothing to worry about from a health perspective,
0:37:08 > 0:37:13less meat for your money does mean you probably are not getting the full value you expected.
0:37:13 > 0:37:18So what are the rules when it comes to labelling how much water is in our food?
0:37:19 > 0:37:22Let's move down because you have some of the labelling here.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26- Obviously with the butcher's chicken you're not getting any labelling. - That's fine.- This one?
0:37:26 > 0:37:32- Just says...- It just says chicken breast fillets high in protein.
0:37:32 > 0:37:37- Legally are they supposed to say if there's water in it or what percentage of water?- Yes.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41If there's any more than 5%, which they reckon you can get in almost by accident,
0:37:41 > 0:37:44then yes, you must declare it.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48So when we come to the frozen chicken breasts, this actually says:
0:37:48 > 0:37:55'Chicken breast fillets: Skinless, boneless, chicken breast fillets with added water and corn oil.'
0:37:55 > 0:37:58So it's not pulling the wool over your eyes.
0:37:58 > 0:38:02When we look at the ingredients list it says chicken breast fillets 85%
0:38:02 > 0:38:05and then the next ingredient is water.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07So you can actually tell if you look.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11- Sometimes they describe them as succulent.- Yes.
0:38:11 > 0:38:15Is that adding the water to make it look plumper and succulent and fatter, basically?
0:38:15 > 0:38:17Weasel words, I'm afraid.
0:38:17 > 0:38:22It supposedly keeps it more succulent when you cook it.
0:38:22 > 0:38:24It will of course dry out when you cook it
0:38:24 > 0:38:27but if there's added water it won't perhaps dry out quite as much
0:38:27 > 0:38:30so it will end up as a moister chicken
0:38:30 > 0:38:35but basically they are adding the water to save themselves money.
0:38:35 > 0:38:40But while some products do make it very clear water has been added,
0:38:40 > 0:38:43perhaps even making that sound like a real benefit,
0:38:43 > 0:38:47others only alert us to that fact in very, very small writing
0:38:47 > 0:38:48on the back of the pack.
0:38:48 > 0:38:53I think meat that contains added fluid should be labelled as such
0:38:53 > 0:38:57and that information should be carried on the front of a pack.
0:38:57 > 0:39:01Essentially the consumers believe when they see
0:39:01 > 0:39:06a neatly packaged piece of cooked meat, cured meat or fresh meat,
0:39:06 > 0:39:07that that's exactly what it is
0:39:07 > 0:39:11and they have no idea because they'd have to read the small print
0:39:11 > 0:39:13to find out there was anything added to it at all.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15However small it may be,
0:39:15 > 0:39:19the information does have to be there somewhere on the label.
0:39:19 > 0:39:21But unless you take the time to look for it,
0:39:21 > 0:39:27in some cases you might not realise that a large part of what you're paying for is simply water.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29Chicken is chicken
0:39:29 > 0:39:34but if you're paying for a particular size of chicken breast fillet
0:39:34 > 0:39:39and you're only getting three quarters of that because of the added water,
0:39:39 > 0:39:42then, in effect, they are taking your money for water.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45There are allegations that some retailers and manufacturers
0:39:45 > 0:39:48have bought in cheap, raw, frozen chicken from Brazil
0:39:48 > 0:39:51and then subjected it to a process known as tumbling,
0:39:51 > 0:39:55adding water and water-binding additives to bulk it out.
0:39:55 > 0:40:00But the British Poultry Council told us consumers can rest assured that British chicken:
0:40:03 > 0:40:06The best advice is to know not just where the chicken you buy comes from
0:40:06 > 0:40:10but what sort of preparation it's had before going on sale.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15Meanwhile, when we asked the British Retail Consortium about all of this,
0:40:15 > 0:40:19they said that water is added to meat and processed meat products
0:40:19 > 0:40:21both intentionally and unintentionally
0:40:21 > 0:40:25either for technological reasons or to assist various processors,
0:40:25 > 0:40:29all of which are long-standing practices supported by legislation
0:40:29 > 0:40:32and guidance on what levels are permitted and consumer labelling.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38But for Mark in Dorset, being more choosy over his chicken
0:40:38 > 0:40:40will be first on his shopping list from now on.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44Everybody wants value for their money, don't they?
0:40:44 > 0:40:47So nearly every shopper shops by the weight.
0:40:47 > 0:40:53To think that we're paying so much for the water in this meat is just absolutely shocking.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55It's terrible really.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03Here at Rip Off Britain we're always ready
0:41:03 > 0:41:08to investigate more of your stories and not just about food.
0:41:08 > 0:41:14Confused over your bills or just trying to wade through never-ending small print?
0:41:14 > 0:41:19When they sit you down to sign up for things they don't really give you the chance or the time
0:41:19 > 0:41:21to read through all that small print.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25Maybe you're unsure about what to do when you discover that you've lost out
0:41:25 > 0:41:28and that great deal has actually ended up costing you money.
0:41:28 > 0:41:33These people have ripped me off well and truly.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36Or you might have a cautionary tale of your own
0:41:36 > 0:41:39and want to share the mistakes that you've made with us.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42You can write to us at:
0:41:49 > 0:41:52Or send us an e-mail to:
0:41:54 > 0:41:59The Rip Off team is ready and waiting to investigate your stories.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04When we're at the supermarket deciding what to buy,
0:42:04 > 0:42:08we don't always have the time to do a forensic study of the packaging
0:42:08 > 0:42:10so what we tend to do instead
0:42:10 > 0:42:13is take an awful lot of what it says there at face value,
0:42:13 > 0:42:15but I think it's true to say that, as we've seen,
0:42:15 > 0:42:20that may not always give us quite the full picture.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23And while there's nothing wrong with big-name stores and companies
0:42:23 > 0:42:27making things sound as appetising as possible, don't believe all the hype.
0:42:27 > 0:42:33Fancy names or labels may only be adding to the price of what you buy and not the quality.
0:42:33 > 0:42:37You'll find plenty more savvy shopping tips on our website:
0:42:39 > 0:42:43But I'm afraid that's where we have to check out for today.
0:42:43 > 0:42:48We're going to be back very soon revealing even more nuggets about the food that we eat
0:42:48 > 0:42:51- but until then, from everyone on the team, bye-bye.- Bye.