The real weight on the scale doesn’t match the weight you’re paying for on the package.
A Georgia man has been exposing the problem at local grocery stores on social media.
It caught the attention of Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray.
Gray wanted to check out if you’re paying more money for less food.
He used a food scale.
While he couldn’t test every product or every store.
Gray found some things at the grocery store where you are paying for food you aren’t getting.
“That don’t weigh no 4.66 pounds,” said Jimmy Wrigg on TikTok.
He has millions of views on social media.
“It’s ticking people off,” said Wrigg.
One Georgia man armed with a phone and a scale.
“This is downright scale fraud,” said Wrigg.
He has checked ham.
“1.83, it says 4.93,” said Wrigg.
He has weighed everything from shrimp.
“That’s almost six ounces short on shrimp,” said Wrigg.
He’s also checked sweet potatoes and sugar.
“You’re getting ripped off. You’re not getting what you’re paying for,” said Wrigg.
He has been finding weights that don’t match what is labeled on the package at Georgia grocery stores.
“It’s real money,” said Gray.
“It’s real money,” said Wrigg.
“It’s real money for us, but it’s big money for them,” said Gray.
“It is, it’s big money and profits,” said Wrigg.
He agreed to show Gray how it’s done.
“You want to try it?” asked Wrigg.
“I’ll throw it on there,” said Gray.
“Go ahead,” said Wrigg.
All the meats they tested at a Commerce Kroger were accurate, spot on.
But Wrigg spotted something else.
“That right here feels light, that feels really light. Is that two pounds?” said Wrigg.
The label says it’s two pounds.
“That’s a whole ounce under that one,” said Wrigg after weighing it.
But each Domino powdered sugar bag we pulled off the shelf at one store was about an ounce under.
“It’s happening everywhere. I’m just one guy,” said Wrigg.
Gray set off to test himself.
“Oh, Kentucky Legend,” said Gray.
He went to Walmart, Kroger, and Publix stores across Cobb and DeKalb Counties.
He stopped at Dollar General and Piggly Wiggly too.
“One pound, one pound, two pounds, two pounds,” said Gray.
His test wasn’t scientific.
He followed Wrigg’s method.
“40 dollars, whoo,” said Gray.
He pulled products off the shelves for a quick spot test with his scale.
“Yeah, that’s over by half a pound,” said Gray.
He used the store scales too.
“I mean you can do this, you can just throw it on the produce scale and make sure you’re getting the right amount,” said Gray.
The vast majority of what he tested from prepackaged foods weighed exactly what it should.
“Right on, everything was right on,” said Gray.
“Great Value shrimp,” said Gray pulling a bag out of the freezer.
He put the two pound bag of Walmart shrimp in his cart.
Wrigg in repeated tests found them underweight.
Gray bought bags from two different Walmart locations.
The FDA says the weight is calculated deglazed – that means without all that ice.
But both bags Gray tested were not what they claimed on the package.
Both were a quarter pound under the weight printed on the bag.
What about some shrimp and grits?
“It’s about an ounce under,” said Gray.
Each bag of grits Gray pulled from the special sale display at a DeKalb County Piggly Wiggly was under weight.
How and why is it happening?
“It’s a lack of vigilance,” said Emory University Goizueta Business School Associate Professor Saloni Ferasta Vasoni, an expert on pricing.
“So both from an ethical standpoint as well as from a legal standpoint, they’re misrepresenting what they’re selling,” said Ferasta Vasoni.
She said research has shown that shoppers won’t notice differences under 15% in price or size.
After Wrigg’s TikToks went viral, Kentucky Legend ham pulled some hams from Walmart.
Some of this can be unintentional – equipment or human error.
For example, remember the Domino sugar Wrigg and Gray saw?
At every other store Gray tested, it was the correct weight.
The regulatory requirement is that products produced in a batch or lot have to average the declared weight, small variances are allowed.
A dad and recovering addict, Wrigg got into all this because money was tight when he was shopping.
Now he’s hoping to push big companies to do the right thing.
“They should be responsible for what they’re selling in their stores,” said Wrigg.
We reached out to all the companies whose products were underweight.
Domino told Gray their industrial scales are calibrated on an ongoing basis, and they run spot checks on their lines daily.
We asked Walmart about their shrimp.
A spokesperson said they did audits on several lots and did not find any problems.
For comparison, Gray also tested house brand shrimp at Publix and Kroger.
Even after deglazing, those shrimp were the correct weight.
One thing Kroger stores do to protect consumers: there are two weight stickers on some products.
Kroger stores re-weigh them to make sure you get what you pay for.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2026 Cox Media Group
