Is your grocery store selling a lie?

What the display at the grocery store says about a product and the truth don’t always match up.

Fri, Oct 21 2011 at 9:23 AM EST

The grocery store that is most convenient to my house is awful. I’m at the point where I have to have a conversation with myself before I run in there to get something if I don’t have the time to go to a better store. The conversation goes something like this:

“You know that you’re going to have a problem with something at the store. Remember, you’re choosing to go there. If something bothers you, it’s your own fault for going in there. Just breathe deep and accept it.”

When I check my receipt I usually find that items have been rung up higher than the shelf price. Cashiers have yelled at me for bringing in reusable bags that have a different store’s name on them. Produce marked with a “Product of the USA” sign above the bin is sometimes from another country when I look at the sticker.

So today, when I had to run in there before I dropped my son at school, I wasn’t surprised when I saw the display in the photo above.

I have to admit, we were there to buy those Doritos. Yesterday, just a few hours after I finished writing the piece about advergames and used a Doritos advergame as an example, my son came home from school and told me he signed up to bring Doritos to his after-school program’s party.

As a parent, you have to pick and choose your battles, and there are a few battles going on in my house right now. I decided I could let my son win this one. So this morning, we ran to the grocery store that never fails to disappoint me to buy Doritos.

About a year ago, Frito-Lay, the manufacturers of Doritos, started making much of its junk food less junky. The company went with “all-natural” ingredients in many of its products. They got rid of artificial flavors and colors in many as well.

They couldn’t, however, figure out how to make Doritos or Cheetos all natural and still make them taste and look the way consumers expect them to taste. (I remember reading somewhere that the company had come right out and said this.)

Yet on the grocery store end-cap was a huge display of Doritos with the words “no msg,” “no preservatives,” and “no artificial flavor” surrounding the words "all natural" on the boxes. The camera also cut off the words "Naturally Delicious" that were above the packages of Doritos on the box. When it comes to Doritos, those words are a lie.

Look at the list of ingredients at the right. (Sorry about the quality — I took the photo with my iPhone at the store of the exact product being displayed). It says there is Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) and artificial flavors right on the ingredient list. Those aren’t the only problem ingredients in the product, but they’re the ones that blatantly don’t match up with promises on the display.

If I had to guess, I’d say that the display boxes were leftover from when one of Frito-Lays all-natural products were on display. Someone from the distributor that delivers the snack food and stocks it at the store or someone from the store itself probably decided to reuse the boxes.

Did anyone at the store realize that the words on the display boxes and the ingredients in the product don't match? I don’t know. Maybe they didn’t. Or maybe the store doesn’t care about being accurate.

At a different store, I would have mentioned this to management. But I learned my lesson at this particular store — when I point out a disparity, I get called a “crazy lady.”

I bought the Doritos this morning understanding the ingredients exactly. This isn't a product that you’ll usually see in my grocery cart because of that issue. I worry, though, that someone is going to see that display and think, “Doritos are now all natural! I’ll let my family eat as many as they want.”

Be careful when you see information that just doesn’t add up. Look at the back of the bag, the box or the can. If you have a smartphone, get the Don’t Eat That app so you can check unfamiliar ingredients right at the grocery store.

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Kim 10/24/2011 15:09 PM

I also saw a Frito Lay set up just like this one in the Midwest recently. It clearly said NO MSG. MSG can cause serious health problems for millions. Saying MSG is not in the product, when it is actually very high on the ingredient list, is simply wrong.

Swallow123 10/24/2011 10:13 AM

Why not save yourself the pain and tell the school to eat healthier. I can think of a lot more nutritious "junk food" than Doritos..

Murps 10/22/2011 11:31 AM

Its word play, not all of the ingredients are natural but some of the ingredients are 100% all natural

cidre7 10/22/2011 09:49 AM

they are doritos...get a life

Greg 10/22/2011 10:33 AM

The ultimate snack - I wouldn't care if they were made out of puppies.

acapone84 10/22/2011 02:21 AM

"Just breathe deep and accept it".....I'm sure the author uses this self talk on many occasions.

Doritophile 10/22/2011 00:19 AM

"Those aren’t the only problem ingredients in the product, but they’re the ones that blatantly don’t match up with promises on the display." The display ONLY says "All Natural." If you take that as being the store's or the manufacturer's "promises," it is no wonder you can't afford to buy Doritos. Have you called your lawyer yet?

Keep feeding you and your kids soy and celery.

Ron Hyatt 10/22/2011 00:07 AM

I bet you think that printing more money is a viable solution also.

Hicks 10/22/2011 00:07 AM

Geez. I'm really surprised by all of the hippies here complaining about the "mislabel." Can't you recognize that the store was saving the earth by reusing the Sun Chips box? What do you expect them to do burn it in the back so stupid hippies don't get confused? If they burn it, you complain. If they reuse it and you get confused, you complain.

The comments here aren't nearly as funny as the one in "how to survive a bear attack" article.

The Zero Doctor 10/21/2011 23:59 PM

You say "Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) and artificial flavors right on the ingredient list." but in the photo all I see is (artificial colors.) Dumb ***.

Anonymous 10/22/2011 12:37 PM

4th & 5th line down in the list.

CM 10/21/2011 23:13 PM

The display is for popcorn, you dumb biatch!

Carol Channing 10/21/2011 22:52 PM

MSG is a naturally occurring amino acid made from bacterial fermentation, but I'm sure you already knew that.

Jonny 10/21/2011 21:46 PM

Frito-Lay owns and uses their own displays, and they also stock their own items. If they stocked items on the display you're showing, then they lied to you and the store. Can't blame the store, as they don't know any better now do they?

J.J. 10/21/2011 20:35 PM

Oh wow. This is a nightmare.

I have a suggestion: perhaps new display stands should be made every single time a new product is to be featured in every store. Let's consider point of purchase displays - non-recyclable inks, production chemicals, print materials, not to mention the fuel usage in shipping things all over the country...

Of course, you're right. Better to NOT recycle displays which are clearly marked as being for a different product. Ew, recycling!

Side note:.... More

Bob Smith 10/21/2011 20:34 PM

If anybody allows their family to eat as many doritos as they want simply because it is "all-natural", they deserve whatever they get.

Salt is all natural, it doesn't mean I can eat as much as I want.

Rivenburg 10/24/2011 16:12 PM

Cobra venom is all natural as is a giant rock falling on your head. Ebola, herpes, fleas, sharks, tumors, Not good for you but yet all natural just the same.

dennis 10/21/2011 20:09 PM

The product was not mis marked, it was in a display case that was being reused from anther product. You can see that the image on the box is not a dorito, its a square chip, possibly a sunchip.
Perhaps misleading, and should have covered it up, but easy to believe it could occur unintentionally with the stocker just trying to save time reusing the display.

OBR 10/21/2011 19:48 PM

I think that "crazy lady" is an awful nice thing to call someone who wastes people's time complaining about useless crap like this. Maybe they just lost the cardboard case that said "Chock full of MSG; they're chemically delicious!" I am sure it was an honest mistake.

If anyone believes (or cares) if Doritos are "all natural", well, let them go ahead and keep on believing that.

Grocery Store Employee 10/21/2011 20:14 PM

How is that a waste of time? I think that it is important to properly represent your products. Consumers are already confused enough when it comes to buying what is healthy.. And lets face it we live in an obese society. If people see that something is all natural they assume it's healthy, and Doritos are anything BUT healthy. Also bringing your own reusable bags is AWESOME! It's about time people start caring about important issues like the environment, and healthy food!

bizmo 10/21/2011 19:48 PM

this grocery store does not sound like any reputable chain. It sounds like an independently operated bodega, and considering the picture on the display is CLEARLY SUN CHIPS NOT DORITOS, i think you're overreacting just a bit. Does the bag make any of those claims? No. You're dealing with a business that from the sound of it is barely scraping by and doesn't want to invest in actual display cases so they reuse promotional ones.

In short, what everyone else said.

Jim 10/21/2011 19:33 PM

You are a crazy lady and no one else cares about things as inconsequential as this.

LWH 10/21/2011 19:02 PM

All the ingredients are derived from natural sources as are ALL thing in this world. They're just processed, and processed, and processed . . .

chris 10/21/2011 18:18 PM

"If something bothers you, it’s your own fault for going in there. Just breathe deep and accept it.”
Oh the horrors we encounter in this modern world, when will we be freed from the hellish nightmare that is entering one of the 500 stores within 100 miles that sells everything a person could need to live for cheap and having to encounter misleading and false labels! Bring back the dark ages, this is more than any human should be subjected to!

Lloyd Llewellyn 10/21/2011 18:06 PM

Doritos are delicious and MSG makes them taste all the better. If anything, it will help preserve my remains after I have long since passed away. I don't know of _any_ regular snack chip that is actually healthy for you. If you didn't know that already, you're a tool.

If a person is allergic to something specific, it's up to you to make sure you aren't consuming the wrong products. Personal responsibility surrenders.

Seriously 10/21/2011 17:32 PM

Did I just read an entire article based on the fact that the Doritos were placed in an OBVIOUSLY not-Doritos display box? This article MAY have a bit of substance if they stated this on the actual bag. I would like my 5 minutes back please.

Todd 10/21/2011 17:11 PM

chips make a crunchy sound when I eat them.

Steveo 10/21/2011 17:10 PM

The box is for SUN CHIPS!

Chris 10/21/2011 16:57 PM

Well, let's see... the aesthetic on the display doesn't match the product placed 'in' the display. Go look at what the color/design is on the 'Doritos Baked' bag is, and look at the display.

Lady, you be crazy.

Jane 10/22/2011 12:38 PM

you probably cost the store money wasting their employees time with silly ball-busting. Look on the Doritos themselves claim to be all-natural. That same display is probably in every retail outlet in the country that sells Doritos. Your lack of understanding of how business works, really should preclude you from commenting as you obviously dont get it.

Spicy Gnome 10/21/2011 16:51 PM

This is the problem with people not understanding the difference between marketing-hype and federal regulation. "All Natural" means absolutely nothing. It is strictly a marketing term and is not regulated in any way, shape, or form. You can put it on absolutely anything you want and not worry about violating anything.

This is not the same thing as Organic. To be able to put Organic on something, that must go through the USDA as that term and use of it are strictly regulated.

I.... More

Dave 10/21/2011 16:45 PM

Why, after reading the ingredients, would anybody, in particular a blogger on Mother Nature Network, buy the things in the first place?

Vernon J 10/21/2011 16:37 PM

Did you inform the store of this error?

Daisy Mabel 10/21/2011 16:31 PM

This woman could make people hate stay-at-home moms. Really? I guess everyone else just isn't as smart as the author of this story that she had to explain how to read the ingredients on a bag of Doritos, and how she was almost swindled by the grocery store putting Doritos in a Sun chips display. Thanks Robin!!!!!!

Ignore the haters. 10/21/2011 16:30 PM

Seriously, ignore the haters. If you're buying a car, you're darn skippy I'm going to look under the hood. And you know what? I'm not putting a car inside my body. What if someone was actually allergic to MSG and had bought those based on the blatant label saying there was no MSG? The store would be liable.

acapone84 10/22/2011 02:08 AM

Your comment is so incoherent that for a moment I thought I was having a stroke.

Unnatural Chips 10/22/2011 00:01 AM

Uh, I don't see a blatant label saying "there is no MSG." If the purchaser was THAT stupid, they would be blogging about it on MNN.

BTW, some of the comments on here are hilarious. Something I would not have expected on this site. Keep 'em coming.

Ghryswald 10/21/2011 16:18 PM

Too many people allow themselves to be manipulated by advertising words and phrases like "real ingredients." real as opposed to what?

Continue to point these things out. They can call us crazy all they want. At least we're not sheeple.

PJSparkles 10/21/2011 16:15 PM

"If I had to guess, I’d say that the display boxes were leftover from when one of Frito-Lays all-natural products were on display. Someone from the distributor that delivers the snack food and stocks it at the store or someone from the store itself probably decided to reuse the boxes."

So you realize this is probably what happened, but you decide to go ahead and write your whargarbly diatribe anyway? Damn, lady, get a life.

duh 10/21/2011 16:12 PM

Am I the only one that saw the GIANT sun chip on the front of the box? /fail

Jeff 10/21/2011 16:07 PM

Yeah, I'm going to go with "crazy lady" too.

Scared_For_The_Children 10/21/2011 16:06 PM

Seriously, you are the reason people hate their jobs.......

Roger 10/21/2011 15:55 PM

The cashier yell at you for using reusable bag from another store? Wow, that's just bizzare. There is some extreme corporate loyalty going on with those employees.

acapone84 10/21/2011 19:40 PM

That's because the employees are paid so well. That ~$8/hour just makes them crazy loyal,they can't help but scoff at other stores branding....On a sad but more serious note the cashier most likely mentioned the bag after the author complained that the store and/or Fritolay tried to pull a fast one and deceive folks into thinking that Doritos are heath food. Herp-a-derp.