Loblaw, Sobeys overcharging for underweight meat — again: CBC investigation

"People ar getting ripped away," said Terri shelton jackson lee, a former inspector with the canadian river solid food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Lee, who spent 24 years with the federal food regulator before retiring in 2021, estimates misweighed meat costs Canadian shoppers millions of dollars annually.

"Obviously, these retail stores are not to be trusted that the weight on the package is accurate," she said.

Under federal regulations, the posted net weights for food — and prices based on that weight —  must exclude the weight of the packaging.

Calculated overcharges ranged from two to 16.7 per cent. Organic air-chilled chicken sold at Farm Boy ran up the highest added costs: an extra $1.35 (16.7 per cent) on a pack of two breasts sold for $9.42, and an added $1.37 (12.5 per cent) on a pack of five thighs for $12.32.

The findings come at a time of growing frustration over the high cost of food: grocery prices have climbed 30 per cent since 2021.

"Food prices have gone astronomically high," said Karen Webber who twice over the past year bought underweight beef brisket at a Loblaw-owned Real Canadian Superstore in Dartmouth, N.S. 

Grocers, she said, "can't be making extra money off of packaging. That's just wrong."

In addition, the CFIA stepped up its unannounced meat weight spot checks, and has so far issued warnings but no fines, to seven retailers for violations. Offenders include a Real Canadian Superstore in B.C. That sold underweight beef strip loin. 

Lee says the CFIA needs to further ramp up spot checks, and dole out big fines to big grocers that consistently misweigh meat. 

"They need to be out protecting the consumer from food fraud," she said. "We're still seeing it's rampant."

In February 2025, Webber bought four beef briskets at her local Real Canadian Superstore and discovered they were underweight. She said she returned to the store and informed a manager, who gave her a free brisket and promised to fix the problem.

However, one year later, Webber bought four more beef briskets at the same Superstore and was shocked to discover they, too, were underweight.

"I was pissed, she said. "They were obviously just paying lip service to me [last year] and they didn't change anything." 

Webber estimates Superstore could have made thousands of dollars extra over the year by charging customers for the beef brisket packaging. 

"You're only supposed to charge people for what they can actually eat," she said. 

In an email, Loblaw said the problem was limited to one product at a "small number" of stores, and that it has since reviewed protocols with staff.

"We are truly sorry this happened," said Canada's largest grocer. "We take weight accuracy seriously."

In each instance, the meat appeared to have been weighed and priced with the packaging included.

Thrifty Foods saw the most significant price discrepancies: four out of the six organic chicken packs tested had calculated overcharges of just over $1, representing an added cost of up to 9.8 per cent.

Consequently, Farm Boy yielded the highest overcharges in the investigation.

"On occasion when errors occur, we investigate the issue so that it can be corrected," she said in an email. 

Regarding Farm Boy, she said the chain is supplied by a third party and that "these products are packaged and weighed at a CFIA-certified facility."

Grocery stores overcharge for meat by including package weight

After conducting just six meat product spot checks at stores in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, the agency said it has tested 236 since January 2025.

Despite the increased enforcement, the CFIA has issued only warnings to offenders. The B.C. Real Canadian Superstore, which sold underweight strip loin, got a warning — no fine — even though the chain has faced CFIA scrutiny before. In early 2024, an agency investigation determined Superstores across Western Canada had sold underweight ground beef. 

Lee, the retired CFIA inspector, says grocers that repeatedly break the rules should face financial penalties. But she argues the current maximum fine, $15,000 for such violations, isn't high enough for major supermarket chains. 

"It's nothing. It's their cost of doing business," Lee said. "It needs to be enough so that it deters them — half a million dollars."

The agency said in an email that its penalties are "proportionate to the risk and the seriousness" of the offence. It added that fines are just one of the tools it uses to enforce the rules. Other measures include education, business licence suspension or cancellation, or referral for prosecution.

The CFIA also noted that the federal government is reviewing fine limits to ensure they're effective, and expects to announce the outcome in its 2026 budget.

As for Webber, after her repeated experience with misweighed beef, she says she's taking matters into her own hands. 

"I'm going to keep weighing everything."

The CFIA encourages shoppers who discover misweighed food to file a complaint with the agency. 

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