Yahoo Lifestyle 
Mum's Masterfoods spice post sparks debate: 'Shame on you'
A mum’s disgruntled comments about a jar of spice by MasterFoods has, well... spiced things up on social media, with her complaint about the product’s weight kicking off a heated debate.
The woman took to a Facebook group to share her irritation after refilling an empty 30g jar of MasterFoods ground nutmeg using a 25g packet of the same by rival spice brand Hoyts.
With 5g less nutmeg than the MasterFoods jar, the Hoyts packet should technically fill the jar with room to spare. To her surprise, the mum was able to fill the jar and still had spice leftover in the packet which she says is a sign that the weight displayed on the MasterFoods packaging is incorrect.
“So we all know when there is an ‘e’ after a gram on packaging that it means ‘estimate,’ she began in her post.
“Well, Masterfoods are a tad off. I refilled my nutmeg spice jar from empty (soz should have pic) but as you can see there is a big difference.
“The nutmeg I refilled is ‘net’ 25g so that should be pretty exact... see pics Masterfoods are well under 30g, didn’t even make 25g (even with small spillage). Tsk tsk shame on you.”
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After voicing her disapproval, the woman was met with a bit of backlash in the comments section where Facebook users pointed out a major flaw in her theory.
“The Masterfoods jar contents would be compacted to a) fit more in and b) stay fresher for longer. You’ve tipped the packet in which has mixed with air giving it a larger volume,” one wrote.
“Tap the jar down, you’ve aerated the nutmeg. It’s not wrong, you are. Tsk tsk,” said another.
One user recalled encountering a similar problem in her own kitchen:
“My husband can’t fit the entirety of a 1kg bag of flour into my 1kg flour containers but I can. The difference? Once full, I tap the container on the bench a few times and the flour compacts more and I can add more in,” they explained.
In a statement shared with Yahoo Lifestyle, a MasterFoods spokesperson said:
“Filling one brand’s jar with a different a brand of loose nutmeg is not an accurate way to test whether both products contain the same weight.
“This is for two main reasons:
“Different brands have different density based on the region the herb or spice comes from and the quality of the product. And density affects the weight;
“Spices also compact over time as the air and moisture is naturally removed. On the production line we will tap our jars to compact the spices and fill them to the brim.
“We love that people care so much about their spices they take the time to post about them on social. We’ll take it as a sign they are going rogue with flavour in kitchens around the country!”
Others Facebook users couldn’t quite believe that a difference in five grams warranted such an uproar:
“This post is a piss-take right?” one wrote.
“Good god. First world problems. Grow up,” added another.
The reactions weren’t all negative, however, with one Facebook user walking away with a bit more cooking know-how:
“I actually had no idea about the ‘e’ being an estimate. I honestly never even noticed it but now I will!” they admitted.
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