Strangest supermarket substitutions include dog treats instead of steak, poll shows
Sanitary towels substituted for sandwich wraps, fish steaks in the place of lemon cupcakes and beef dog treats instead of steak.
These are just some of the 'completely inappropriate' supermarket substitutions reported by online shoppers in a poll.
Almost a third of online grocery shoppers (29%) reported having received a substitution in their most recent food order, the survey for consumer group Which? found.
Almost half of Asda shoppers reported receiving a replacement product in their most recent online order, making it the worst culprit for swaps, with one customer handed micellar water – a facial cleanser – in the place of drinking water.
Another bemused online Asda shopper was sent a roasting tin instead of roast potatoes, while one was offered bananas instead of pizza.
At Sainsbury's, 32% of customers said they had received a swap in their latest shop, including beef dog treats instead of beef steaks. One bewildered shopper was sent leeks instead of flowers.
Of Morrisons customers, 31% had items in their most recent order replaced, with one sent sanitary towels instead of tortilla sandwich wraps and fish steaks substituted for lemon cupcakes.
A quarter of online Tesco shoppers received a substitution. Among the examples of unexpected items, one said they had received orange-flavour vitamins instead of a Terry's Chocolate Orange, with another sent cat food when they expected ham.
Meanwhile, 27% of Amazon Fresh shoppers – including Morrisons, Co-op and Iceland deliveries ordered through Amazon online – said they were sent replacement items, including six bags of jelly sweets instead of free-range eggs and a 12-pack of children's milk instead of a four-pint bottle.
One in four Iceland shoppers received a replacement product in their most recent online shop. One customer had ordered a 24-pack of Pepsi Mango and received pasta instead, another was sent oranges in place of ham.
Waitrose and Ocado shoppers were the least likely to receive a substitution, at 21% and 19%.
While some customers thought it was comical to open up some unexpected items, others with special dietary requirements were less impressed. Many complained about being sent meat or dairy instead of vegetarian or vegan alternatives.
Some other diet-specific items were not suitable: one shopper received cheese instead of lactose-free cheese, and another said they were sent an item that contained gluten when a gluten-free item had been requested.
The consumer group said all supermarkets in the survey allowed customers to hand back unwanted substitutions at the point of delivery, or when they picked up a click and collect, and receive a refund.
Some supermarkets allow customers to opt out of receiving replacement items altogether.
Reena Sewraz, the Which? money and retail editor, said: 'While some product substitutions in your online food delivery can be welcome, our research has shown that they can also be well wide of the mark – ranging from strange to completely inappropriate.
'If you receive a replacement that you don't want, you can reject it on arrival, or you sometimes can opt out of receiving substitutions altogether, although your dinner plans could be disrupted if key ingredients don't show up. If you do end up with something you won't use, always contact the supermarket and ask for a refund.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
9 hours ago
- The Sun
The key mistakes you're making with your fan and it could be costing you £111 a year
KEEPING your home cool in the summer months can be a bit of a challenge. Many households turn to gadgets to help keep their pad feeling comfortable when temperatures are rising but beware as these can add a lot of money to energy bills. 1 The typical cost of running a fan is relatively low, no matter whether you opt for a bladeless model or more traditional style portable fan. For 24 hours of continuous use, you'd expect to pay between 3p and 7p through energy costs, according to the Energy Saving Trust. Even if you continuously used a fan over June, July and August it would add, at most, around £6 to an energy bill. However, with hotter weather more people are opting for air conditioning units. These appliances circulate air around the room in a similar way to a fan - but also remove heat from the room. Air con units are far more expensive to run than fans - typically 20 times as much, according to the EST. You're looking at paying up to £1.30 for 24 hours of continuous use. Over the course of a month that would be around £39 and over the summer months, £117. There are some easy ways to make sure you're getting the most out of a fan to keep your home cool so you can avoid other pricier gadgets, according to consumer group Which?. Here are the mistakes to avoid... Forgetting the ice Your fan can help cool a room faster if there is ice of cold water placed in front of it. To make this trick work best, you want a bowl filled to the top with ice and the fan blowing air directly on to it. This will make your fan feel a little more like an air conditioner without the added cost. Location, location, location If it's cooler outside, placing your fan next to a window will help draw in colder air helping to bring down the temperature in your home. This could work especially well in evenings when it's usually colder outside. Make sure it's facing the room and leave the window open. If you have another window in the room and another spare fan, you could further help push air out of the room by facing it out of the window. This will help create a crosswind in the room. Pre-running a fan Some may think that having a fan on in your bedroom before bedtime could be a good way to cool a room. But in reality you're wasting energy as a fan only creates a breeze which feels cooling rather than lowering the temperature. It's not a good idea to leave a fan running when you're out or not in a room either from a safety aspect. Not cleaning up Get the vacuum out to suck up dust and dirt in a room before turning on your fan. The gadget will blow air as well as dust and pollen particles around the room. This can aggravate allergies. If you're using your fan for the first time this year, it's worth giving it a clean. Follow the manufacturer instructions and clean blades gently if you're able to. It's a good idea to store your fan in a box or bag during cooler months to stop them gathering dust. Choosing the wrong fan As the name suggests, desk fans are usually best placed on a desk or table. They will then help you feel cool if you're working next to it. These gadgets are not too powerful and won't create a really strong breeze. So unless you're sat at the table, opt for a pedestal or tower fan which is designed to reach a larger distance in the room. How to save money on summer essentials SUNNIER days and warmer weather will leave many of us wanting to kit out gardens and outdoor areas. Sun Savers Editor Lana Clements explains how to get a great deal on summer essentials… It pays to know how to bag big savings on the likes of hot tubs paddling pools, egg chairs and outside bars. Many retailers have flash sales across entire ranges – often this ties into payday at the end of the month or Bank Holiday weekends. Sign up to the mailing lists of your favourite brands and you'll be first to know of special offers. It can be worth following retailers on social media too. Keep a close eye on the specialbuys at Aldi and middle of Lidl drops which drop a couple of times a week and usually mean great value seasonal items such as beach gear and paddling pools. If you are not in a hurry to buy an item, try adding it to the shopping cart and leaving it for a couple of days. Sometimes big brands will try to tempt you into the sale by offering you a discount. Always check if you can get cashback before paying. It's especially worth using sites such as Topcashback, Quidco and app Jamdoughnut when buying bigger ticket items such as garden furniture as you'll get a nice kickback.
The Sun
5 days ago
- The Sun
Gardeners' World fave reveals £2 Asda trick to feed family veg all summer – & it's perfect for small spaces
WHAT could you do with a square meter in your outside space? Turns out - quite a lot - says Gardeners' World presenter Nick Bailey - who's spearheading new campaign Make a Metre Matter. 2 2 He wants to get Sun Gardening readers involved too - supporting wildlife and sustainability - and making the planet a better place. 'There's 20 million gardens in Britain. If 20 million people just dedicated one metre, that's quite a lot of metres isn't it?,' he told me. 'There are loads of ways you can make a meaningful difference, including growing plants for pollinators, growing veg to cut down on food miles and creating a compost heap.' Nick's created a Headline Show Garden for BBC Gardeners' World Live later this month - with lots of Make a Metre Matter ideas to take home. He added: 'You can grow nine lettuces in that space. You could grow four compact courgettes and supply your family with more courgettes than you could eat for the summer." Currently Asda are selling courgette seeds for £2 - and you can get them in the ground now. 'You could choose to put acid compost in there and put four blueberries in there " he said. "Within your first harvest you've made your money back.' 'Equally you could just sow some British native wildflowers, which could be as cheap as £2 to £3 for a packet. 'It will give you a brilliant long run of colour from May through to October, with lots of interest for pollinators. Gardeners' World's Monty Don fears 'decayed' knees from years of gardening could cut short TV career 'You could also create a square metre pond. In the first month you'll have about 10 species in the pond. "A year down the line you'll have 20 plus species and it just goes up and up and up. 'Insect and bees will come and feed from there, you'll support birds, you're supporting the aquatic life itself. 'It doesn't have to be a big space to make a big impact.' If you're inspired to make a difference - you can register your meter to be entered into a Gardeners World prize draw to win a £1k voucher to spend at Crocus or two runner up Crocus prizes of £500. Visit for more information. Gardeners World Live takes place at Birmingham NEC from June 12 - 15. Top tips, news and a great competition to win a £100 Westland plant feed bundle. TOP TIP Salvias are coming into their prime right now - especially the Mexican hardy shrubby ones like Hot Lips, Limelight and Amistad. To ensure you get the best blooms all summer, we've got some top tips from expert William Dyson, from Great Comp Garden in Kent Grow them in pots, or in your borders - they like free draining soil and sunshine. If you give them an extra chop in mid to late of July - cutting a third of the growth- they'll spring back and reward you with tons of flowers until November. Companion plant with perennials to give a cottage garden look Or make a statement in a large pot. Don't let them get too dry - they do like to be watered, Don't feed them with nitrogen plant food because you'll get more leaves and less flowers. Great Comp's summer garden show is on August 9 and 10. NEWS! The Beardy Gardener - an award-winning garden designer, broadcaster and mental health advocate, is hosting his first ever Garden Gathering on June 21 at the Longstock Park Nursery on the Leckford Estate, near Andover. The event supports Andover Mind 's 'Garden for Mind' initiative, a therapeutic green space dedicated to enhancing mental health and wellbeing. The Garden Gathering promises a vibrant day filled with expert-led workshops, live demonstrations, plant sales, and family-friendly activities. For more info visit NEWS! The National Garden Scheme gives visitors unique access to over 3,500 exceptional private gardens across the UK while raising money for nursing and health charities. Visit the website to find a garden near you open this week. WIN! Thanks to Westland - we're giving away two amazing plant feed bundles worth over £100 each. Each one contains Boost Boost All Purpose Granules, plant feed, Big Tom, Rose feed, bug gard and others. To enter visit or write to Sun Westland Boost competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Include your name, age, email or phone. UK residents 18+ only. Entries close 11.59pm. June 28, 2025. T&Cs apply. JOB OF THE WEEK You can move a lot of houseplants outside now to make space or give them a bit of a boost with natural light. Water hanging baskets daily, start deadheading roses. TOP TIP - if you, like me, are struggling with blackfly right now - make a spray of washing up liquid (Ecover is best) and water - and give them a good soaking.
The Sun
7 days ago
- The Sun
Gardeners are snapping up fruit trees for £2 & it'll give you months of homegrown raspberries & blackberries
GREEN-fingered fans are going wild for penny-pinching plants that are as tasty as they are pretty. Customers are taking advantage of the purse-friendly fruit trees on offer from a huge retail store. 1 Supermarket giant Morrison's are selling three Flourish & Joy fruit plants for just £6 - making them £2 a pop. Customers can choose from thorn-free blackberries, Buckingham variety Tayberries and Allgold autumn raspberries. Fans on the Gardening UK - Hints, tips & advice Facebook page have rated the popular plantations. One user commented: "Good bargains, happy gardening." A second recommended: "Blackberries are nice although take a bit of space and can be slow to ripen. "Raspberries are sweeter and have heavier crops." A third budding gardener added: "I've always fancied getting some of them, but it's like squirrel city in my back garden." If you're looking to buy a fruit bush or two, then consider where it is going to grow. Raspberries thrive in locations that provide a combination of sunshine, well-drained soil, and some degree of shelter. While they can tolerate partial shade, they produce the most abundant and sweetest fruits in full sun, preferably at least six hours of sunlight a day. Award-winning face of Sainsbury's and Morrisons ads dies aged 77 as family share emotional tribute Blackberries thrive in a location with full sun or partial shade, in well-drained soil that is moist but not waterlogged. They also benefit from being trained up a support structure like a trellis or fence. With the sunshine season almost upon us, the fruity additions are fantastic affordable options for gardens and outdoor spaces this summer. But as the sun comes out, so do common garden pests. Green and black flies, commonly known as aphids in the gardening world, can be found on both indoor and outdoor plants. If ants are causing problems in your garden or finding their way into your home, some of the best natural deterrents involve strong citrus scents. You can use garlic to keep green flies off your plants and cupboard staples to get rid of garden ants. Lemon is a particularly effective method; you can mix lemon juice with water and spray it around ant trails to keep them away. While snails and slugs are common in gardens across the UK, they can cause significant damage to garden plants. Coffee grounds and eggshells could help keep slugs away from plants. If your problems are more rodent-based, natural ways to deter rats from your garden include citronella oil and onions.
