Yahoo Lifestyle 
Aldi shoppers slam major change to once popular $5 product: 'Disgusting'
"These were a staple in our freezer and they’ve totally changed."
Aldi customers are sharing their disappointment about an item they say has gone downhill. The Elmsbury Angus Beef Potato Pies were once the talk of the town, with shoppers racing to buy the two-packs for $4.99.
However, the humble savoury pastry has now fallen from grace as consumers lament the decline in quality and say they won't buy them again. One such customer shared her complaint in a popular Facebook group, sparking a conversation with her fellow Aldi shoppers who, as it turns out, also have 'beef' with the once popular pies.
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"These were the best pies on the market, for some reason they took something that wasn't broken and destroyed it," the customer wrote on Facebook. "The mince used to be beautiful and non gristley now dry and full of gristle the top used to have lovely peaks of real potato and the bottom had a silver pie tray, now no tray and the potato is flat and fake spud.
"Sadly I will not be purchasing them anymore."
Her fellow group members were quick to respond with many of them agreeing with her review.
Complaints flood in about Aldi pies
"Oh my god yes!!!! They are the only meat pie I actually loved, but had one a few days ago and ended up with a heaped teaspoon full of gristle (used to have none). I’m glad it isn’t just me, but sad they took a lovely pie and wrecked it," someone replied.
"These were the only pies I bought and I’m really disappointed that they are so yuk now, everything about them has changed and I won’t buy them again," said another while someone else wrote, "Yes these were the best pies, so disappointing that they have changed these!"
"Yes I used to love these pies, then a few weeks ago I bought a pack and they were disgusting, I binned them and haven’t bought any since!!," added a third.
The complaints didn't stop there as more and more people mourned the diminished quality of the product.
"100%!!!! These were a staple in our freezer and they’ve totally changed. Reeeeeeeeally annoys the hell out of me when they do that and make it so obviously cheap crap. Why fix what isn’t broken?" one shopper asked.
"I’ve experienced this too this week, won’t be too quick to open the second box," another weighed in - along with a photo of inedible parts of the beef.
One group member said that it wasn't just the Elmsbury pies that seemed to have changed things up for the worse.
"With regards to the pies - they are made in the same factory as the King Island pies - have noticed how that brand has also gone 'off' recently - instead of chunky bits it is now all mince in with watery gravy …. So may not be Aldi fault but the factory. Just saying," they wrote.
Customers ponder why pies have gone downhill
And others still came to the table with suggestions as to why the once tasty item had taken a turn.
"Trying to make it cheaper just destroys it," one commenter said.
"Cutting corners to increase their profits...good on everyone for not purchasing. Should also return the disgusting uneaten ones," wrote another.
"Yeah it’s crap when they mess with the recipes! The Sundried Tomato pasta frozen meal was the best and then they changed that too! All to save $$ somewhere along the line," a third added.
SHOP:
"Oh, so sorry to read this," a different shopper chimed in. "Sadly, this is happening more and more to products, not only at Aldi, with some other supermarket brands too...just wish, Aldi would have clear signage up, saying when something has changed."
Aldi responds to customer complaints
In a statement made to Yahoo Lifestyle, a spokesperson for Aldi said, "We always ensure that we are bringing the best quality products to our customers and work with our business partners to maintain excellent quality across our Exclusive Brands.
While there has been no change to the product formulation, we take customer feedback seriously and encourage customers to share any complaints or concerns with ALDI directly via our help centre, so we can review them in detail. Any customers who are not satisfied with a product can return it to stores for a full refund or replacement.”
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