Almost a third of the 122 food and drink items in the supermarket that were reviewed in early August had at least 5% less of the main ingredient, BBC Panorama found.
One example was Hearty Food Co chicken nuggets – a packet of 28 weighing 450g costs £1.55 in Tesco and is advertised as being the same price as in Aldi.
However, the Tesco equivalent was just 39% chicken, whereas the Aldi version listed chicken’s presence in the ingredients as being 60%.
A 500g four-pack of chicken kievs, priced at £2.75, were only 44% chicken in Tesco, compared to 57% chicken being found in the Aldi alternative.
In the drinks section, a bottle of apple and blackcurrant squash with no added sugar had just 6% of fruit juices from concentrate in Tesco, but the Aldi Sun Quench Double Strength option had 20%.
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The Hearty Food Co 450g cottage pie also had less beef in it, with just 18% of the product having the ingredient, compared to Aldi’s Inspired Cuisine version, which costs £2.49.
At the other end of the scale, out of the 122 products, there were 12 products that had more of the main ingredient included than its budget rival.
Those items on Tesco’s shelves included Hearty Food Co 10 Fish Fingers, Eastmans’ Coleslaw and reduced fat houmous.
Price Match ‘proved very popular with customers’
In response to the investigation, Tesco told the BBC: “Since we launched our Aldi Price Match four years ago, it has proved very popular with customers.
“We constantly review the quality of our products, and we have clear processes in place to ensure that the hundreds of products that are included are comparable with those sold at Aldi.”
It also noted that all of its products carry information about ingredients so customers can make informed choices.
An Aldi spokesperson said: “We have always said that the full-price supermarkets can try to match us on quality or price, but never both. The only place shoppers can get Aldi prices on high-quality products is at Aldi.”
Speaking on the BBC Panorama special, Supermarket Deals: How Good Are They?, consumer expert Kate Hardcastle said: “It’s only when you flip it over and look at that tiny, tiny font size to see you’re not getting the same deal.”
Aldi has topped the table of the cheapest supermarkets in every month of 2024, despite a raft of loyalty card schemes and discounts by its rival retailers.
In August, the average price for a trolley with 62 items was £110.58, whereas if you shopped in Tesco with a Clubcard, the same items would cost £123.13. This rises by 49p if you do not have a Clubcard.
Waitrose is the most expensive supermarket, costing an average of £140.89 for a trolley of everyday essentials.
For all of the freshest supermarket offers, read YourMoney.com’s monthly round-up – the best of the British aisles.
