A user on TikTok has sparked discussion after alleging that the bags of Tortiyahs! chips that she purchased contained only 7 to 8 ounces of product. The stated weight on the package is 11 ounces.
In a video with over 396,000 views, TikTok user @ladyelysiumasylum expresses her disappointment about the number of chips she received in her first bag.
“There’s, like, a quarter amount of chips in this,” she says, showing a mostly empty bag. She then opens a second bag to reveal the same amount of chips. “Why is there so little in the bag?”
Following this, the TikToker uses a kitchen scale to weigh both bags. One weighs around 8 ounces, while the other weighs approximately 7.
@ladyelysiumasylum Isn’t #foodshortage fun! #wtf #chips #food #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp ♬ original sound – LadyElysiumAsylum
This TikToker isn’t the first to complain about a paltry amount of chips being offered in a chip bag. A video posted in December of last year showed a mostly-empty bag of On The Border chips sitting on a store shelf. Last month, another user claimed that a bag of chips from their local grocery store had about half of the weight stated on the package.
There are some reasons for having excess space in the bag. As a Frito-Lay worker explained in June of last year, the mostly-nitrogen ‘air’ in each bag preserves the chips’ flavor and serves as padding for transit.
That said, weights on bags are supposed to be accurate within reason—and in the comments section, TikTokers claimed that this kind of misleading packaging was appearing more common.
“For real it could be a production issue but for REAL real it’s probably shrinkflation,” wrote a user.
“I would look into a lawyer or just file a complaint with the company saying your gonna get a lawyer,” offered another. “People have sued for less.”
“I feel like this isn’t a food shortage issue and more of a greedy corporations issue,” stated a third.
Utz, the company that makes the snack, later responded to the video, to which the TikToker replied with a follow-up.
@ladyelysiumasylum Replying to @tortiyahs Um, thx ppl of TikTok? #howdidthishappen #chips #foodshortage ♬ original sound – LadyElysiumAsylum
Users in comments were not convinced that the problem had been resolved.
“You should go into the store with a scale,” shared a commenter. “I think this is more of a scam than a QA issue.”
“Giiiirl take it all the way to court,” said a second. “don’t let them off the hook!”
The Daily Dot reached out to Utz via email and @ladyelysiumasylum via TikTok comment.
