‘I Can’t Believe It’s Not 500g Butter’: Reddit User Weighs Asda Packs Below Their Labels

A Reddit user weighed two Asda butter packs on a kitchen scale and found that both were underweight. The r/AskUK post showed one pack at 416 grams and another at 423 grams, well below the 500-gram label. The images sparked conversation around supermarket packaging and the accuracy of household scales. Some commenters argued that the discrepancy was enough to justify complaining.

A Reddit user, identified by the handle u/NoCarrot2064, uploaded images of two Asda butter packages sitting on a kitchen scale. One package was salted, the other unsalted, and both bore the same weight figure of 500 grams on their labels. The poster noted comparable discrepancies during purchases at Lidl. Their question centered on whether the discrepancy was within legal limits and whether they ought to file a complaint about it.

The Kitchen Scale Question

Suggestions that the kitchen scale could explain the discrepancy came fast. A commenter wrote, “My first thought here is your scales are probably shit. Try someone else’s.” while another advised checking the scales before contacting the supermarket. “Weigh a coin to get the calibration checked 👍,”

A second commenter offered a simple household test involving water. “Get an empty measuring jug, place [it] on the scale, and zero the weight,” [sic] the user wrote. They then suggested adding 500 milliliters of water to test the reading. That advice sparked another discussion about whether measuring jugs could introduce errors.

Testing the Scale

One user fixed their attention on the actual butter instead of the measuring equipment. “There is a legally permitted difference between the labelled weight and the actual product weight,” they wrote. That same commenter went on to recommend reaching out to the supermarket after first checking the scales. A separate Reddit user, “I’d wager it’s a scale issue,” added a point without providing any supporting evidence for it.

One person wondered whether the weights shown on screen seemed realistic for a 500-gram item. A separate commenter responded, “It’s possible they average 500g across the full batch and you got super unlucky.” A different user offered a lighthearted take on the whole thing using a headline about butter. “i cant believe its not 500g butter” [sic]. Other commenters added jokes about ever more elaborate methods of checking the scale.

Practical Suggestions

Several practical tips for checking household measurements came up during the conversation. One person proposed using supermarket scales as a way to compare weights. Someone else suggested measuring water instead, and there was debate over whether coins offer dependable calibration. One contributor even put forward 500 milliliters of water as a simple test for a measuring cup.

The thread also attracted jokes about British supermarkets and butter. One user wrote, “That’s definitely worth a strongly-worded letter to the Telegraph.” Another commenter responded with the mock sign-off, “Signed, Outraged of Tunbridge Wells.” Other users joked about butter shortages and supermarket quality.

What We Know and Don’t Know

No independent scale testing was offered to confirm whether Asda underfilled either of the two butter packages in question. The images revealed readings of 416 grams and 423 grams, but the thread itself did not settle the matter one way or the other. The Daily Dot could not independently verify the weights displayed in the photos or the scale’s accuracy. The details above reflected the Reddit user’s post and responses included in the thread.

Here is what the comments suggest:

1. Weigh the butter on your scale.
2. Test your scale with coins or water.
3. Check the calibration against a known weight, like 500 milliliters of water.

First weigh the items. Should the scale prove accurate, get in touch with the supermarket. If it does not prove accurate, the issue might lie elsewhere entirely.

The Daily Dot’s reporting here is limited to the thread itself. We don’t know whether Asda underfilled the butter, and neither does anyone else who commented. What we do know is that a kitchen scale is a fragile thing, and one Reddit user learned that lesson the hard way.

Source material: “‘I Cant Believe Its Not 500g Butter.’ An User Weighed Asda Butter and Got Numbers Below the Label,” The Daily Dot.

Asda · butter · Reddit · supermarket · weight