Your Grocery Store May Be Overcharging You For Meat
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Some Loblaws and Sobeys stores in Canada are overcharging consumers for underweight meat products—and it’s not the first time, or even the second.
The problem is outlined in a recent CBC investigation into the matter. Looking into pricing accuracy among grocery chains, CBC’s secret shoppers spent two months weighing meat products at a handful of stores within the Sobeys and Loblaws chains in Toronto, Halifax and Vancouver.
The secret shoppers bought 32 products in those stores that indicated consumers were being overcharged. The prices were inflated anywhere from two to nearly 17 percent for items like chicken breasts and thighs.
Loblaws responded to the claim with an apology and reassurances that they “take weight accuracy seriously,” while a representative for Sobeys indicated that once “errors” are identified the chain makes efforts to correct them.
Meat overcharging happened in 2023 and 2025, too
The recent development is part of a follow up on a 2025 CBC investigation that found Loblaws had been selling underweight meat in a significant number of stores throughout its chain in Western Canada.
That investigation, meanwhile, was prompted by a 2023 consumer complaint that eventually resulted in the filing of a class-action lawsuit against the chain. (According to court records, the claim, which was filed in July 2025, has yet to be met with a response by Loblaws.)
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During that analysis of the issue, CBC also found a similar practice of overcharging as much as 11 percent for meat at a Toronto Sobeys and a Walmart in B.C.
Back in 2025, a representative for Loblaws told the news organization that the practice, which appears to result when retailers factor in the weight of the product’s packaging, was due to an “error” in 80 stores across Western Canada.
That “error” contradicts regulations on pricing. Federal regulations mandate that “net quantity declarations” must accurately reflect the amount of food in the package and not include the weight of packaging.
In 2025, both Sobeys and Loblaws said they’d addressed their weighing policies as a result of the issue.
Enforcement of federal regulations related to pricing is left to chains to follow, but the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is empowered to apply fines to offenders. The agency told CBC that it had ramped up inspections after its January 2025 story.
Consumers can report concerns on the agency’s website.
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Flannery Dean is a writer based in Hamilton, Ont. She’s written for The Narwhal, the Globe and Mail and The Guardian.
