5 Grocery Chain Produce Departments You Should Skip
Grocery store produce section with vibrant fresh vegetables – Photo: Tonelson/Getty Images
We all know the importance of adding fresh produce to our diet, but over the last few years getting high-quality fruit and vegetables from grocery stores has become a struggle for many people. Shoppers on social media complain about low-quality products and high prices from both small regional grocery chains and large companies. As grocery chains show more red flags in the produce department, such as mold, odor, and dried product crust, it’s reasonable to wonder whether U.S. quality standards have changed in recent years.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a grading system for fruits and vegetables to ensure quality produce distribution, but grades vary by type, making it difficult to know what you’re actually getting from a given USDA grade. While many stores and chains use the same distributors and sellers, self-identified employees and store owners report that some stores are willing to pay to get products first; This means that when produce reaches cheaper stores who are unwilling or unable to pay to play, fruit and vegetables are plucked and only the lowest quality options are available.
Problems such as old, rotten, tasteless fruits, and vegetables that are about to run out or rot seem to be a problem almost everywhere, but some stores are in worse shape than others. The following five grocery chains in particular have produce departments that you should skip entirely.
Read more: 4 Cuts of Steak Worth Buying at Costco and 6 Steaks to Avoid
Walmart
Walmart store where a customer exits the front door – Alexander Farnsworth/Getty Images
Although you might not think of Walmart primarily as a grocery chain, gone are the days when the store focused on general retail items. Today, the majority of Walmart stores in the U.S. are either large Supercenters with a wide selection of produce, groceries, and other items, or Neighborhood Markets with an emphasis on produce over groceries and other items. While smaller discount stores focusing on general merchandise still exist, they account for only 352 of what the conglomerate calls 5,206 total retail units.
With so much focus on groceries and fresh foods, you’d think Walmart would be a great place for produce. According to customers, this is not the case. Sure, it might be cheaper than items at other stores, or it might be more convenient to buy everything at once, but entire Reddit threads are dedicated to the quality (or lack thereof) of Walmart’s products. Redditors suggest a multitude of possible reasons, from staffing issues in the produce department to Walmart choosing to purchase lower-quality products from its sellers.
Product delivery orders are not immune from problems either. in one Facebook post Regarding Walmart’s grocery deliveries, customers complained about rotten, moldy products. One wrote: “…the other day all my peppers were soft, my cucumbers were moldy, my berries [wasn’t] close to ripe and some ripe enough to liquefy…” Other customers agreed, suggesting people avoid in-store grocery options altogether, delivery or otherwise.
British Markets
Ingles grocery store window – Ablokhin/Getty Images
Much smaller than the nationwide megacorporation Walmart, Ingles Markets are common throughout much of the Southeastern United States, especially in rural areas. The first store opened in Asheville, North Carolina, in 1963, and the chain’s only distribution center and warehouse is still located just outside Asheville, within 250 miles of each of its more than 200 stores in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Although a single distribution center and a relatively small footprint might lead you to expect higher quality fresh produce, customers found the opposite.
Many customers in the Asheville area, which has about 20 stores within 10 miles of the city, express frustration with Ingles being the most common grocery store in the area, especially with the poor quality of products like the ones it carries. In the r/Asheville subreddit, entire threads are devoted to the chain’s problems. users draw attention“Product quality is absolutely appalling” and the store sells “visibly spoiled fruit and vegetables.” Others said they had to shop there for many items due to the scarcity of other stores, but “definitely not for produce or anything fresh.”
Perhaps the worst thing about the store’s products is that the price does not reflect the quality. One Reddit user summed it up succinctly: “And for that, Ingles expects you to settle for Whole Foods prices.” If you can, go somewhere else.
Aim
Target the storefront where customers enter and exit – Sundry Photography/Getty Images
Like Walmart, Target began focusing on its grocery department in an effort to become a one-stop shop for customers. Unfortunately, their products are not worth the so-called convenience, especially as customers complain online about spoiled fruits and vegetables. If you’re looking for even more convenience by ordering your Target groceries through a third-party app like Shipt, know that shoppers don’t have access to a better product than what you’ll find in-store. As a Shipt customer shared reddit“The target product always sucks.” Other shoppers agreed, citing strawberries, apples, avocados and salads as among the worst offenders.
According to a former Target employee, the problem is staffing in the produce department. They shared: “Most of the time, new arrivals are cold products. [were] Inventories were prioritized and pallets were huge, so other tasks such as making sure all products were up to date and fresh and discarding expired products could often be skipped or rushed.”
Luckily, Target’s return policy also covers fresh produce, as long as you have your receipt and you didn’t purchase through a third-party delivery service like DoorDash or Uber Eats. However, it’s not so convenient if you have to return items you purchased as part of your casual shopping trip. It may be better to buy your products elsewhere in the first place.
took
Aldi store against a vibrant blue sky – Kenwiedemann/Getty Images
We know, this hurts. Aldi superfans may be hesitant or reluctant to admit it, but Reddit says Aldi’s products are the worst. Not only does Aldi have a limited selection compared to many chain grocery stores, but the fruits and vegetables are often not in the best condition. Although it is possible to buy fresh, live produce at Aldi, customers say this is very random. Some online sites share stories about moldy fruits (especially berries), citrus fruits that taste like nothing, and soft, smelly, rotten vegetables. Even if you manage to find products that look nice, there’s a good chance they will break down relatively quickly. Some customers have even shared stories of otherwise perfectly good produce spoiling overnight in the refrigerator.
It looks like the problem may be similar to the one faced by Walmart. While the store sells its products cheaper than other stores, this brings a different cost to consumers. Allegedly an employee r/Aldithe store does not buy the best quality products; otherwise prices would be higher. But they also noted: “We throw produce (and meat) twice a day, so if you want the best quality try going right at opening or between 12-2pm.”
ACME Markets
Acme market storefront and parking lot – M. Suhail/Getty Images
Although ACME Markets is another smaller regional chain with stores in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and its home state of Pennsylvania, it operates under the umbrella of Albertsons Companies, one of the largest food companies in the United States, which also operates chains such as Shaw’s, Star Market and Safeway.
customers online opinions The product department’s opinions range from “unreliable” and “seriously lacking” to “disgusting”, “terrible” and “overpriced”. Considering that ACME is also one of the most expensive grocery chains in America, it doesn’t make sense to shop there for produce.
as a response Reddit post Asking why anyone would shop there, one person noted the closeness of ACME Markets compared to other stores. “The closest supermarket is an Acme. The next closest supermarket is an Acme. The next closest supermarket is an Acme.” Given the chain’s ubiquity, some people don’t even realize how bad the store’s products are until they move to another area with more variety. Now we’re telling you to go somewhere else for your fresh fruits and vegetables.
Hungry for more? Sign up for free Daily Food newsletter Delicious recipes, cooking tips, kitchen hacks and more delivered right to your inbox. Moreover add us as preferred search source on Google.
