An image of meat products for sale at Woolworths repulses the internet as the supermarket says it was trying to cut waste
The photo, which was posted on Reddit, depicted a meat bin at a deli counter in a store in Auckland, New Zealand as 'Meat pieces, Mixed' for NZ$15 (AU$13.70) per kilo - and the contents horrified commenters.
The poster captioned the photo of the unappetising selection "recession indicator?", a term used to describe situations that wouldn't happen in a working economy.
Comments on the Reddit forum were scathing, with many users expressing their disgust at the selection on offer.
'What the heck is that pricing too?' asked one commenter, and another added the selection 'Looks like dogfood.'
'Povo charcuterie,' said one, and another said it should be called 'Floor Sweepings Du Jour.'
Other commenters linked it to the state of the New Zealand economy with one saying 'Meat" $15/kg Named meat will cost you extra.'
Another said, 'it is more of an indication that supermarkets are laughing at us thinking that someone will pay that.'
One commenter, who says he is an independent butcher, said that the practice was common in the industry.
'I work in a deli in South Australia and we do it too. It's just end pieces of whatever to save on waste. Although that sausage in there is a crime."
"It's mainly just the offcuts from the slicer that you can't normally sell because they don't 'look good'. Not really any different than the ugly odd-bunch vegetables you can get for cheaper. It'd just go in the bin otherwise."
In a statement, Woolworths New Zealand said that they had got it wrong but said that they were attempting to cut down on waste product.
'A tray of mixed meat pieces sold at Woolworths Metro in Auckland has now been removed from our delicatessen,' they said.
'We do sometimes sell the ends of our sliced meat range in an effort to reduce food waste and divert food products from landfill.
However, in this instance we did not get it right. We apologise for any confusion caused.'
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