Even though plenty of people have opted to have their groceries delivered to their door, grocery stores are still very important. Sometimes, it’s good to look at produce beforehand. Other times, you want to ensure that the guy at the deli counter slices your ham just right for the best sandwiches.
You may have the most face time with grocery store cashiers, but there are plenty of people running the whole operation. Many grocery stores have managers by section, meaning that there’s someone in charge of the produce and someone else in charge of the seafood. Otherwise, it’s a very stressful operation. Every product sold in stores needs to be fresh. The second you try selling expired milk, your customers will go to your competitor.
That said, many grocery store employees aren’t afraid to spill the beans when it comes to grocery store secrets. Their jobs are a lot harder than you may think — not only do they often need to deal with customers, but they also have to be knowledgeable about what they sell. Working at a grocery store means that you pick up a lot of knowledge about both food and food sales.
Here are some of the biggest secrets and suggestions that you may want to keep in mind next time you go grocery shopping.
1. Make sure your cans are clean.
Cans often have a long shelf-life, meaning they’re exposed to a lot in their lives.
If other food explodes around it, or if it gets a little dusty based on sitting in the warehouse, you could get sick without even realizing it. Even if you trust your grocery store, it couldn’t hurt to wipe down your cans before opening them. You may be surprised by some of the hidden dirt you find.
2. Your lettuce was once crawling with bugs.
We accept that bugs are part of nature, but prefer not to see them in our food.
Since crops grow outside, it only makes sense that it’d attract some creepy crawlies. The produce section tries their hardest to get rid of all of them, but it still makes sense to wash your produce before you start eating it. It’s the best way to know that you won’t be traumatized by your otherwise-healthy salad.
3. There’s a lot more food waste than you think.
Sadly, not all fruit is created equal.
If something doesn’t look good, it’s immediately tossed — even if it’s still safe to eat. That’s probably why companies like Imperfect Produce exist. They sell to customers who are more concerned about what a carrot tastes like than what it looks like, thus, making sure that the “ugly” fruits and veggies still have a chance to serve their purpose.
4. Not everything is freshly baked.
They do the best they can, but they’re not an official bakery.
This should be common knowledge, but it still stings a little bit to hear it confirmed It’s just nice to think that a bunch of employees lovingly made that birthday cake, instead of knowing it came from mostly frozen ingredients. Of course, every grocery store is different, and some things are made fresh on the premises, based on the store.
5. Be careful with those hot meals.
The good news is that the meat is being reused and not wasted.
But, the bad news is that you may feel like you’re eating a product that’s not fresh enough. Just make sure to check when the packaging date and sell-by date are, and you should be fine if you’re within that window of time. With dates, it never hurts to double-check — especially if it’ll help prevent food poisoning.
6. Make sure you bag everything.
You’ll need to wash it anyway, but your produce will be cleaner in plastic bags.
Not only will this help you organize what you got and keep the checkout line from getting too gunky, but it’ll be a lot easier for the cashier to properly ring up everything you bought. It’s a simple step that’ll just save a lot of people some hassle. You may feel bad about the excess plastic, but you can make sure it’s recycled when your food gets home.
7. Grocery store shelves aren’t the cleanest.
To be fair, if they’re constantly stocked with product, it’d be quite an ordeal.
It’s one of those things you don’t think about, especially if you’re grocery shopping in a hurry. There are dirtier things in a grocery store that you should be worried about (like, the produce and your cart) but this should just serve as a big reminder that you need to wash everything, including your hands, after a trip to the store.
8. Candy is often skipped over
Think about it. Do you even know where the expiration date on your candy bar is?
Candy can, unfortunately, sit out for a long time. The good news is that most candies have a pretty long shelf life, and it’s rare to get seriously sick due to expired candy. But there’s just something sad about knowing your Hershey’s chocolate bar may have been sitting out there, waiting to be bought, for years.
9. Don’t ignore bad smells
Some grocery stores have a distinct smell to them.
Often, it’s good. But other times, that smell may indicate that something is seriously wrong. Nobody necessarily wants to investigate a bad odor, especially an underpaid and underappreciated store manager, so it may turn into a store secret. As a customer, just be careful with what you buy if you notice a smell that never happens to go away.
10. Cockroaches might be in the warehouse.
When there’s food, there are often bugs.
Cockroaches are the absolute worst. Not only are they scary to witness, but they’ve been known to spread disease and get people sick. Even though plenty of grocery stores know that a cockroach infestation would cause a lot of issues, some of them don’t see it as a top priority to fix — especially during daylight hours, when bug treatment would be visible to the customers.
11. Apples are older than you think.
This doesn’t sound like it could be correct, but it is.
Food Renegade writes that plenty of apples are kept in cold storage after being ripened with a chemical. They can last up to a year in storage. Today also confirmed this method of apple storage. Next time you see an apple, you have all right to be both impressed and grossed out. They’re perfect if you’re looking for a fruit with a little longevity.
12. They might be lying about sales.
Customers always want to assume that they’re getting the best deals.
And, not many of them look at the fine print. Try independently tracking grocery prices on an item or two to see if it stays around the same. By doing a little bit of research, you can learn which chains actually have a deal, and which ones just want you to believe they do.
13. Cheese might have mold scraped off of it.
In general, cheese can last a long time.
But sometimes, mold happens. And even though it seems a little ridiculous and disgusting, cutting off the mold spots is common practice with hard cheeses. Gourmet Cheese Detective states that mold can safely be cut off of whole or cut cheese, but not shredded. Cheese might even change tastes and textures with time, but still be safe.
14. The vegetable sprayers may be doing more harm than good.
If you’ve ever bought fresh lettuce before, you know what the sprayers are like.
According to Taste of Home, the sprayers are actually there to make the vegetables look more appealing, and also add more weight to them if they’re sold by weight. But some grocery stores may neglect to clean then, meaning that they’ll still need another complete rinse-off when they get home.
15. Avoid the cut fruit.
There are a few reasons why you should avoid the pre-cut fruit at the grocery store.
The pre-cut display always looks gorgeous, but that doesn’t mean the taste is all there. Not only are these fruits that likely don’t have a decent shelf-life in comparison to the other fruit in the store, but there’s also a higher risk of salmonella and other types of bacteria that can make you sick. It’s also much more expensive than whole fruits.
