Furious Tesco shoppers spot ‘offensive’ change to lunchtime meal deal offer

TESCO has sparked customer fury after making an "offensive" change to its lunchtime meal deal offer.

The supermarket giant's deal includes a main, a drink and a snack and costs £3,40 with a Clubcard, or £3.90 without.

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But shoppers have been left livid after spotting that tubs of fruit are being promoted as a main - the equivalent of a sandwich or a wrap - rather than a snack.

Many have taken to social media to complain, with some branding it "wild" and "offensive".

Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, one shopper said: "Is this a sick joke? Why is fruit a main in Tesco meal deals?

"As a nation, we seriously need to get a grip and quickly."

Another added: "Tesco, do you care to explain yourselves?

"Because while fruit is healthy for you in many ways, it is not nutritionally a main source of food an average person needs."

A third cried: "Fruit pot as a main, bring the General Election forwards."

And a fourth wrote: "I tried getting a fruit pot as my main snack in a Tesco meal deal and was confused why the price was a fiver until I looked at the lid of it and it said 'main meal."

Larger fruit pots were introduced by Tesco around a year ago after the supermarket found shoppers wanted a main option that would be suitable to eat for breakfast.

These pots weigh between 230g and 300g and cost £2.35 if they are bought individually.

They are different to the smaller £1.30 snack pots, which cost between 80-145g, that customers are used to seeing on shelves.

This means that shoppers can still bag a sandwich, a drink and a smaller pot of fruit of they wish and get it at the meal deal price.

But those wishing to have a larger fruit pot will need to chose this as their meal to qualify for the deal.

It comes after Sainsbury's made a similar change, adding yogurts a meal deal main course instead of a snack.

Larger pots of the retailer’s own-brand fruit-flavoured Greek-style yoghurts, which come with a side of granola, are classed as mains.

But smaller “protein” yogurts made by brands like Arla are considered a snack.

Sainsbury's told The Sun the change has been made across supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol filling stations.

The Sun exclusively revealed that Poundland is set to launch a new meal deal offer.

The bargain retailer is bringing in a meal deal with a main, drink and side for just £3 within weeks and there are over 400 items to choose from in the range.

How does Tesco's Clubcard scheme work?

TESCO'S Clubcard scheme allows shoppers to earn points as they shop.

These points can then be turned into vouchers for money off food at the supermarket, or discounts at other places like restaurants and days out.

Each time you spend £1 in-store and online, you get one point when you scan your Clubcard.

Drivers using the loyalty card get one point for every two litres spent on fuel.

One point equals 1p, so 150 points gets you a £1.50 money-off voucher, for example.

You can double their worth when you swap them for discounts with "reward partners".

For example, £12 worth of vouchers can be swapped for a £24 three-month subscription to Disney+.

Or you can swap 50p worth of points for £1 to spend at Hungry Horse pubs.

Where you can spend them changes regularly, and you can check on the Tesco website what's available now.

Tesco shoppers can also get Clubcard prices when they have the loyalty card.

The discounted items change regularly and without a Clubcard you'll pay a higher price.

These Clubcard prices are usually labelled on shelves, along with the non-member price.

But it's worth noting that just because it's discounted doesn't necessarily make it the cheapest around, and you should compare prices to find the best deal.

You can sign up to get a Tesco Clubcard in store or online via the Tesco website.