The bread price-fixing scandal investigation marks its 10th anniversary this year. Initiated in 2015, the Competition Bureau’s work remains incomplete. That’s right, it is still ongoing.
While Loblaw, Weston Bakeries (since sold), and Canada Bread (also sold, now owned by Mexico’s Grupo Bimbo, which paid a record-breaking $50-million fine) have faced consequences, four other companies — Sobeys, Metro, Giant Tiger, and Walmart — remain under investigation. This prolonged timeline is extraordinary and does little to foster consumer trust.
Adding to the dismay, a recent CBC investigation les by reporter Sophia Harris uncovered further issues, revealing that major Canadian grocery chains, including Loblaw, Sobeys and Walmart, have been overcharging customers by mislabelling the weight of meat products. Discrepancies often exceeded acceptable margins of error, with some stores including the weight of packaging in the labelled weight of the meat. In some cases, deficiencies were over 10%, a figure that significantly breaches regulatory standards.
Canada’s Maximum Allowable Deficiency for pre-packaged goods varies based on weight: There is no tolerance for packages under 50 grams, a 1.5% margin for packages between 50 grams and 1 kilogram, and 15 grams plus 1.5% for packages over 1 kilogram. Being off by 10% is not just an oversight, it’s a serious violation.
The CBC investigation spanned over several months and involved more than 80 stores, highlighting systemic lapses. While grocers may attribute these issues to mistakes or equipment malfunctions, the financial impact on Canadians is undeniable, particularly in a segment — meat — where prices are already climbing. According to Canada’s Food Price Report 2025, meat prices are expected to rise by 5% to 7% this year alone, exacerbating the issue.
Loblaw, among others, issued apologies, attributing the problem to new equipment. However, such explanations fall flat in light of the sheer scale of the discrepancies. Canadians spend an estimated 15% to 17% of their food budgets on meat, translating to approximately $48 billion annually, given an average retail price of $8 per pound. With consumers purchasing around 6 billion pounds of meat yearly, even small errors in labelling could result in significant overcharges, potentially surpassing the financial impact of the bread price-fixing scandal.
Most Canadians inherently trust product labels. However, this trust may now waver, leading to questions about the accuracy of scales used for other weighted items like seafood, fruits and vegetables. Even the fat content in extra lean ground beef, which has risen in price by 15% over the past year, may come under scrutiny. By regulation, extra lean ground beef in Canada must contain no more than 10% fat by weight. Can consumers be confident that this standard is consistently met?
When consumer doubt spreads, trust erodes. Grocers, already on thin ice, must exercise greater diligence to restore public confidence. Transparency and accountability are no longer optional but imperative.
For consumers, vigilance is key. Investing in a home scale, which costs about $15, can empower individuals to verify labels. Discrepancies should be promptly reported to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency or to Measurement Canada. Given the apparent gaps in regulatory oversight, consumer-driven action may become the most effective way to hold the food industry accountable.
In an era where trust is fragile, empowering consumers to monitor and report inaccuracies may be the ultimate safeguard for ensuring fairness in the marketplace.
— Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is the Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University and co-host of The Food Professor Podcast.