The CBS4 I-Team's Most Popular Investigations
Nov 25, 2008 10:31 am US/Eastern
I-Team: Short-Weight Seafood
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
It's a South Florida treat that's good anytime of the year: fresh seafood. But it's expensive and hard to find when it's out of season. That's why as Thanksgiving approaches, smart shoppers are turning to more affordable and always available frozen foods.
But if you're not careful, you may not really be getting any bargain at all.
Carlos D'Arcy, an inspector with the Florida Department of Agriculture, knows while you'd never pay high prices for just ice, in some cases that's exactly what you're getting.
It's called "glazing" and you have probably never heard about it. It's the process of intentionally adding water to frozen foods to prevent freezer damage. But add too much, and the price per pound looks better than it really is.
Some insiders tell
CBS4, over-icing seafood adds up to extra profits for processors and huge losses for consumers.
Bob Jones, Director of the Southeast Fisheries Association, said "I think nationwide it could be $100 million or more, because you're talking about all products and you're talking about some very expensive products".
So how bad is the problem around South Florida?
The
4 Your Money team went undercover to find out.
We checked out some of the same supermarkets and seafood stores you might shop at. We bought four packages of frozen shrimp.
With the help of the Florida Department of Agriculture, we thawed them out and weighed them on a special, calibrated scale to see if we got a good deal or a dud!
Under state law, when you buy a pound of frozen food, you're supposed to get a pound of actual product. You're not supposed to pay anything extra for the packaging or the ice, but in half the products we tested, we basically over-paid for just plain water!
Just 1 out of 4 of our test packages actually delivered exactly what we paid for. And it turns out one package was a better deal than we even thought. We got more than the pound we paid for and that's good news for us, but bad news for retailer!
So how can you tell you're getting your moneys' worth when you shop for frozen food?
- Look for frozen products that aren't covered by too much ice.
- Ask your retailer to double check the weight of the entire package *before buying* it.
- If you're paying for a pound of product, the whole package better weigh more than just a pound.
- If possible, shop for previously frozen products that have already been thawed, so you don't have to pay for extra ice or extra packaging.
Bob Jones said it's usually not an accident and most consumers don't even know about the problem. He added, "Sometimes you don't know when your pockets getting picked. They need to be aware that's just what's happening when you get short-weighted somebody's picking your pocket."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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