Loblaw responds to green onion conundrum that riled up shoppers

A photo of green onions on the shelves at a Loblaw-owned store caused quite a stir on the internet this week, and the grocery giant has finally responded to the controversy.

Photos emerged online of the onions with roots cut off on the shelves of a Loblaw-owned store.

One photo of the rootless onions was recently posted in the Loblaws Is Out of Control Reddit group, and garnered hundreds of comments. The original post has since been removed from the group, but the comments remain.

Loblaw Is Out of Control

Some folks were quick to blame the company, speculating that they were trying to rip off customers and stop them from “regrowing [the onions] at home” by removing the root.

“They’re so greedy, it’s so gross,” wrote one commenter on Reddit.

Comment
byu/Vast_Librarian_3484 from discussion
inloblawsisoutofcontrol

Others wondered if the move was simply an error on behalf of staff, something encouraged on a more local level by management rather than by corporate, or something done by suppliers rather than the store.

Some commenters suggested that it may have been done to make the produce sellable if the roots had started to rot or that it was simply a mistake.

“I used to be a produce boy at Loblaws years ago. Hate the company totally now. This might just be a bad trim job from a young idiot like myself. Unless this is being done at multiple stores, I’d assume it’s an underpaid worker making a mistake,” said one Redditor.

Comment
byu/Vast_Librarian_3484 from discussion
inloblawsisoutofcontrol

Comment
byu/Vast_Librarian_3484 from discussion
inloblawsisoutofcontrol

So, was this a nefarious tactic from the grocery giant or is there a plausible explanation for the rootless onions?

Daily Hive received a response from Loblaw about the particular photo posted in the Reddit group and, according to the company, it was a mistake.

“We peeled back the onion on this one. It turns out it happened accidentally during a morning prep to one unfortunate batch of green onions at one store over a month ago,” said a Loblaw representative.

“The saddened scallions were removed from the shelf, given a new home, and weren’t sold. We hope this solves the mysterious chive-y conundrum.”

Have you noticed this happen to scallions at your local grocery store? Let us know in the comments.

With files from BlogTO’s Becky Robertson

You might also like:
• Customers accuse Loblaws of screwing them over in new way after suspicious find
• We went grocery shopping in a US city — here's how it compared to Canadian prices
• Here's what we know about Red Lobster Canada locations after chain shutters dozens of US stores