Customer’s surprising find in Smith’s chips packet: 'I want a refund'
A shopper has revealed a surprising find in his packet of Smith’s chips in a recent video on TikTok.
The TikToker, @ethanholm9, shared a video captioned: “@Woolworths_au paid air” which shows him opening a packet of Smith’s salt and vinegar chips he had purchased at Woolworths.
“Smith's I want a refund,” says text written across the video, as the man opens a packet of Smith’s potato chips to reveal an empty bag filled with air.
Unsurprisingly, TikTok users were just as perplexed as the man, with many taking to the comments to share their thoughts.
“Paid air,” wrote one commentator.
“$2.50 for air,” chimed another commentator.
“Vid of how to get a refund,” wrote a third.
PepsiCo respond to Smith’s chips TikTok video
A spokesperson for PepsiCo, who own Smith’s chips, told Yahoo News Australia that sometimes empty chips packets get missed by the machines in their factories.
“It’s rare but sometimes the machines in our factory can miss filling a bag – there’s a sensor that would normally remove it but if there’s a filled bag on top of it, it can get missed,” said the spokesperson.
“We only want our consumers to receive full bags of chips, so if this ever happens please contact us at smiths.com.au and we’ll reimburse you,” they added.
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TikTokers accuse man of staging ‘paid air’ video
However, not everyone was believed their eyes, with many skeptical commentators accusing the man of staging the video.
“Why [are] you filming yourself opening in the first place?” asked one user.
“Probably opened one, ate it, and got another packet that wasn’t opened,” wrote a third.
While another user accused the man of editing the video to make the packet look empty: “The video cuts when the chips go off screen.”
However, the shopper took to the comments to respond to users, maintaining the video was for real and there was no “sleight of hand”.
“Why is everyone accusing me of faking it? I only used one hand to open it,” said the TikToker in response to skeptics.
Other users agreed with the TikToker, saying that the man could feel the packet was empty, which is why he filmed himself opening the chips in the first place.
Why is there so much air in bags of potato chips?
It’s a question as old as time: why is there so much air in my bag of potato chips?
We’ve all felt our hearts simultaneously deflate as we have watched the contents of our potato chips bags deflate the second we open them.
But, what is the real reason potato chip bags are half-filled with air? Is it because potato chip companies are trying to rip us off? Or, is there a more scientific reason?
Well, according to a study from chip-enthusiasts Kitchen Cabinet Kings, the air in snack bags isn’t actually just air. It’s a taste-preserving nitrogen that prevents staleness and protects bags from being squashed in transit.
The process of filling bags with nitrogen is called “slack fill” and is said to make chips taste even better and prevent chips from being crushed into crumbs.
The use of “slack fill” in chip manufacturing is said to be harmless, as 78 per cent of the air we breathe is nitrogen.
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