Even More Irritating Supermarket Packaging

We wrote about it before because the struggle is still real, but there turned out to be so many more packages (especially for supermarket products) that people are absolutely driven crazy by! That became clear once again when consumers were asked to share their nightmares when it comes to any kind of packaging. And products other than food also made the list…

Those plastic cold cuts packages are already hell, according to our columnist Eddie, those weird, tight plastic films around snacking cheeses are just as terrible, and the people who came up with crisp packets clearly didn’t understand it either. And according to readers of Consumentengids, these packages are also incredibly stupid:

United in frustration

After the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Mark Friederichs, expressed his frustration about plastic pasta packages with a supposedly handy adhesive seal, a flood of both support and reports of other insanely bad (and sometimes downright dangerous) packages followed. For example, readers mentioned these in a summary of all our packaging misery.

Milk carton

Consumentengids reader René van Oyen has less strength in his fingers, hands and wrists because of rheumatism. Should he therefore just give up on Lidl milk? Under the screw cap is a plastic tab with a ring, which according to René is set so deeply into the package that you can only reach it with a fingernail or the tip of a knife, after which it regularly breaks off.

After that, the only way to remove the plastic cap is to attack it with a sharp, pointed knife, after which you either risk seriously injuring yourself or have to settle for a countertop covered in milk. René experiences an aching cramp in his hands almost immediately after this ordeal, and it lasts a long time. What would help, according to him? If Lidl would take a good look at the Aldi milk carton, because when you twist open that cap, the plastic tab is immediately pushed inward.

Tomato mess

Also irritating? Heinz’s cardboard carton of diced tomatoes (though I can name a few more, such as the Albert Heijn own-brand passata). Supposedly, you don’t need scissors for this one, because you can simply ‘tear it open along the dotted line’. But because you still want to hold the carton properly, you’ll probably squeeze it a little, meaning that before you know it, you’re facilitating a homemade tomato-sauce fountain on your countertop.

Unox pea soup annoyance

According to reader Peter Hink, the tins of Unox Stevige Erwtensoep are also impossible to open properly. He routinely reaches for a screwdriver because he can never manage to pull up the tab with a finger. But when he uses the screwdriver as a lever through the tab, the tab breaks off, leaving him with no choice but to drive the screwdriver through the lid (what?!) because a can opener doesn’t work either. Isn’t that downright dangerous?

Big and small packaging misery

And so the complaints, comments and counterquestions kept pouring in in response to the question of which packages people find the most annoying and inconvenient. Has anyone ever managed to open a packet of Douwe Egberts filter coffee without spilling it, or a pack of Douwe Egberts coffee pods without them ending up all over the kitchen? To close the package of pre-sliced cheese normally again, open Remia curry sauce without a struggle, or open the sealed packaging of mascara or cartridges without it turning into some kind of military operation involving half the tools from the shed?

Room for improvement

We’re curious, because the Consumentenbond almost always aims to encourage manufacturers and producers to think more carefully about their products and improve them. They are therefore asking supermarkets and manufacturers to think carefully once again about easy-to-open packaging—and their readers are ready to help!

Read also:

• Complaints are pouring in about Coca-Cola
• 8 complaints about Knorr Wereldmaaltijden
• Buying spice mixes at the supermarket: you’re often being ripped off

Source: Consumentengids