Consumers ought to have a serious beef with product labels

Do burger patties which contain just 36% beef deserve to be called beef patties?

Most consumers would probably say no and recoil in horror at the thought of what makes up that other 64%.

And yet I&J's "Beefers" are the country's biggest-selling frozen beef patties, and that 36% beef content is declared boldly on the front of the pack along with 21% water - because South Africa's labelling regulations demand it.

The rest of the ingredients are declared on the back of the pack, mostly what the industry calls "extenders" - soya and flour - because they're a lot cheaper than beef.

• Wait! Only 36% of your beef burger may be the real stuffThey are the country's biggest-selling frozen beef patties but a close look at the packaging reveals that they are not very beefy at all - just 36% beef. 

It may be perfectly legal for I&J to call a product beef despite the fact that it's mostly not beef, provided they say so on the packaging. But given that the word "Beefers" is emblazoned across the pack in giant letters, and the descriptor "Beef Patties" is dominant while "Beef (36%)" is relatively small, the reality is that many consumers simply won't realise how non-beefy the product is.

Manufacturers are well aware that most consumers base their buying choices primarily on price, and that few examine labels to determine true value.

And that's why diluting a product with cheap extenders and subtly shrinking the size of the pack - referred to as shrinkflation - are on the rise, internationally, in the quest to make products "more affordable".

The food industry argues that they are simply meeting consumer demand for lower prices, and there may be merit in that, but regardless of legislative requirements, companies have a moral obligation to be as transparent as possible about what's in their products.

Sadly, the day when product packs scream "Now with only 36% beef" is never going to come, so the only way for consumers to make informed choices is to get into the habit of scrutinising labels.