Furious customers call out Woolies for "shocking" packaging

Outraged customers have slammed Woolworths on Facebook over the packaging of sweet potatoes.

Nearly 60,000 people have liked the post online which showed a picture of the sweet potato section in Woolies.

RELATED: Outrage over Snow White body-shaming
RELATED: Female students told to wear low-cut tops to graduation

While the photo may seem totally normal and harmless to some, others are appalled that the supermarket chain has decided to package the potatoes in plastic containers, instead of leaving them out in the open.

One woman decided to call the supermarket out on it and posted the image to Facebook, alongside the caption: “Why??? Woolworths, we, your customers, don't want this. Our planet doesn't need it.

“Sweet potatoes can go from your shelf to my trolley to my kitchen without ever needing to touch a plastic bag, let alone a plastic tray as well!!!”

The majority of commenters agreed with the woman, with many saying they also thought the exact same thing when they saw the sweet potatoes in their local Woolies.

“We have managed to eat fruit and veg that didn't come in plastic packaging for 100 years. Please don't tell us that we need it now. We don't, the planet doesn't and I'm sure you could even save yourselves some Woolworth dollars!,” one person commented.

“Nothing angers/frustrates me more than seeing this waste,” another shopper said.

“This is shocking. We have far too much plastic packaging already. The oceans are now full of plastic, choking sea life. We all, as individuals or corporate entities need to find ways to reduce and to encourage others to reduce plastics. This makes screwing our planet up much too easy,” another person said.

Woolworths replied to the post on Facebook, claiming the plastic cases were “to preserve the product throughout the supply chain”.

“We make efforts to use our packaging as efficiently as possible,” they continued.

‘As such, many of our packaged produce lines are also available in loose format.

“When considering new recyclable packaging options, we need to ensure that it meets our existing food safety standards, product integrity requirements, and that it sustains the appropriate shelf life of our products to reduce food waste.

“We’ll continue to work with our suppliers to actively pursue packaging alternatives that reduce the amount of packaging or increasing its recyclability where possible.”

Want more celebrity, entertainment and lifestyle news? Follow Be on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram