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Chapter 13: Information |
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Some foods, such as meats and poultry, accumulate moisture during processing and lose moisture during packing and storage. The accumulation or loss depends on the biological characteristics of the product and handling conditions such as temperature and storage time. As a result, the actual weight of the meat purchased is often different from the weight stated on the label.
To be sure that they are in compliance with labeling requirements, some firms label packages with weights less than the actual weights, a technique referred to as overpacking by the industry. Because different states use different standards - some use wet weights, and others dry weights - the difference between labeled and actual weight is probably substantial across the country. The U.S. Department of Agriculture examined the drained and labeled weights of packages of whole, cut-up chickens from various states. In roughly half the sample the drained weight was higher; in the other half the labeled weight was higher.
Presumably, consumers would be willing to pay more per pound if they knew that a package contained more product than was indicated on the label. Sexton (1981) estimated that the gain from the information about accurate weights in 1978 was $2.1 million, which was only 0.01 percent of the total expenditures on chicken. The estimated cost of providing drained-weight information was at least $59 million annually. Thus, the costs of providing the information greatly outweighed the benefits.
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