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Aldi slammed for ‘un-Australian’ change to packaging

Aldi has come under fire for a discreet change to its packaging that one shopper believes is a direct contradiction to its supposed "commitment" to Australian suppliers.

Packaging of the supermarket's GoldenVale brand of Wheat Biscuits, a knock-off of Sanitarium's Weet-Bix, previously featured a patriotic Southern Cross around the product name along with a Union Jack.

Recent packs have been re-designed however and the stars and Union Jack have been omitted – a choice a shopper argued went against the Australian loyalty claims made on the retailer's website.

Image shows front of Aldi store.
Aldi was criticised over a discreet change to a cereal package. Source: Getty Images

"Your website reminds Australians how committed you are to the Australian community. Why the flag removal then?" the consumer wrote on Twitter.

Aldi claims it prioritises Australian-made products when sourcing items and only buys from overseas suppliers when it can't find the "item, quality, efficiency or innovation" required on home soil.

An employee for the supermarket responded to the shopper's complaint, reporting there had been no change to the percentage of Australian produce used in the creation of the Wheat Biscuits.

"Aldi is proud of its commitment to Aussie suppliers and are happy to report that over 90 per cent of our everyday product range is sourced from Australian manufacturers," their reply read.

New and old Aldi Wheat Biscuits packages side-by-side.
The shopper was suspicious after spotting an absence of stars on the new packaging. Source: Twitter

"Our Wheat Biscuits are made in Australia from at least 99 per cent ingredients.

"The updated packaging is a stylistic choice and we’ll share with the team you prefer the flag design."

Aldi was criticised earlier this week after a mum unwittingly fed her child a dessert from the supermarket that had alcohol in its ingredients.

A spokesperson confirmed most of the small percentage of alcohol in the dessert evaporated by the time it was consumed.

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