Does your food look like the picture on the box?
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Walking down the supermarket aisle, you see one mouthwatering photo after another. But how does the food look when you get it home?
It's not always what you expect, says Tod Marks of Consumer Reports.
"Now we had a lot of people complain to us about the food that really doesn't resemble the pretty pictures on the box," said Marks. "So we decided to buy a cartful of products."
Consumer Reports' trained testers evaluated more than three dozen products -- everything from broccoli to bacon, to sweet treats.
"Some products did appear as pictured. But we found others whose photos didn't come near reality," said Marks.
Take, for instance, the package of Tabatchnick Tuscany Lentil Soup that shows pretty red and green vegetables. But it's hard to find them once you heat up the soup.
And the spaghetti and meatballs on a Banquet box do look appetizing. But the actual meatballs are smaller and the spaghetti is in pieces, not strands as pictured.
And while Healthy Choice's Barbecue Steak does look like what's shown on the package, there's less than you'd expect.
And "lean" is right with the Lean Pockets Pretzel Bread Sandwiches. The box shows chunky filling, but the pockets Consumer Reports bought were far from full!
So what can you do when your food isn't picture-perfect?
"I suggest you complain to the company, because the worst that can happen is, well, maybe they'll give you an apology. But the best that can happen -- you get a free product," said Marks.
Consumer Reports is looking for more products whose food doesn't measure up to the picture on the box. If you find one, you can email Consumer Reports.
It's not always what you expect, says Tod Marks of Consumer Reports.
"Now we had a lot of people complain to us about the food that really doesn't resemble the pretty pictures on the box," said Marks. "So we decided to buy a cartful of products."
Consumer Reports' trained testers evaluated more than three dozen products -- everything from broccoli to bacon, to sweet treats.
"Some products did appear as pictured. But we found others whose photos didn't come near reality," said Marks.
Take, for instance, the package of Tabatchnick Tuscany Lentil Soup that shows pretty red and green vegetables. But it's hard to find them once you heat up the soup.
And the spaghetti and meatballs on a Banquet box do look appetizing. But the actual meatballs are smaller and the spaghetti is in pieces, not strands as pictured.
And while Healthy Choice's Barbecue Steak does look like what's shown on the package, there's less than you'd expect.
And "lean" is right with the Lean Pockets Pretzel Bread Sandwiches. The box shows chunky filling, but the pockets Consumer Reports bought were far from full!
So what can you do when your food isn't picture-perfect?
"I suggest you complain to the company, because the worst that can happen is, well, maybe they'll give you an apology. But the best that can happen -- you get a free product," said Marks.
Consumer Reports is looking for more products whose food doesn't measure up to the picture on the box. If you find one, you can email Consumer Reports.
For the most part, real food doesn't photograph well so they often use plastic food, especially under the hot cameras. I eat a lot of frozen food, Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, Smart Ones, Amy's Organic  and find that the food for the most part looks exactly like the picture.
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Home Cooking beats these packaged meals hands down every time.
@Stryker Most of the time cheaper too.
I am one step ahead of you. Just today I sent a picture off the can of some Clam Chowder, and a picture that I took with my digital camera. I told them that I was very dissappointed in their product.
Patty, Montesano,WAÂ
Consumer Reports wins the Captain Obvious Award.
Forget about packaged foods.  At the fast food restaurants you're right there where they cook it, and they have a picture right there when they serve it to you. Never looks as good as the picture...
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 @paperboy One of the best movie scenes EVERY. Michael Douglas in falling down when he confronts the fast food restaurant on how the burger doesn't look anything like what's in the picture.
How can anyone expect to have their pre-packaged, processed and frozen foods resemble anything fresh or healthy?
Consumer Reports is just NOW figuring this out? Where have they been for the past 30 (40?) years?
I grew up before instant meals and I married who is a homecooker. We both work long hours and share chores. I don't see what the advantage is to prepared food, the Doctors all tell us it is bad for us.
 @whitewings2003 the doctors tell us everything from the air we breathe to the products we put on our skin and in our bellies is bad for us. Everything causes cancer, obesity, or whatever the current focus is. Some people cook and are willing to spend a couple of hours of their day to make healthy well-balanced foods and some can't cook, don't know how, have other things they value more, or being in a single parent/or person household, simply don't have another person to share the burden.
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I hate to cook. I have other things to do with the limited time in my day and my microwave is my best friend. Cooking is for my day off, after I do the chores, pay the bills, do the laundry, and try to spend a little time with my kids.
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@chandler @whitewings2003 Too bad... you could spend time with your children learning to cook. That would take care of many things at once, ie. quality time/quality of life.
 @This_again?  @chandler  @whitewings2003 since I don't "like" to cook what makes you think "learning" to cook with my kids would be a pleasant experience? I know how. They don't. I don't like it. That would translate into "bad experience". A great way for me to connect with my kids. Not.
I usually don't write to a company to complain but to compliment. I do sincerely write to companies whos products I believe in and often get a heart felt reply accompanied by coupons for free or reduced priced products. As far as what products like food look like on a package I think we all know that's pretty much a pipe dream. Sames goes for food displayed on TV. It almost never looks like that.