7 Tips Used In Supermarkets To Trick Us

Food in supermarkets is not always of good quality. Naively, we believe that quality managers are forced to throw away a lot of items whose use-by date has passed. But, in reality, they resort to a few tricks that customers aren’t always aware of to avoid losing a lot of money.

Boredmojo shares with you the tips of supermarkets that are easy to recognize. Only buy the good quality items!

7. The butcher’s department uses pink lights

Many butcher’s shop windows use LED lights in pink tones. This gives the meat a more appetizing and fresh edge , which makes it sell better.

If you want to buy a piece of meat, before you checkout, take it out of the display case and examine it in normal light.

6. Meat is handled to maintain freshness

This type of additive stabilizes the color of the meat, slows down the degradation process and improves the taste. They are not harmful to health, but if you want to buy natural and fresh meat, carefully read these few rules:

Buy meat from certified butchers and learn to recognize quality. The flesh of fresh meat should be dense in appearance, firm to the touch, and almost dry from the rind that has formed on the surface. Fresh meat also has a recognizable flavor: if it doesn’t, you should be worried.
It is better to buy meat in supermarkets where the butcher’s shop is visible to customers, and from where you can observe how they cut it and under what sanitary conditions.

5. Fresh products are mixed with those about to expire

Foods that have different expiration dates can be mixed together in the same plastic bag. Thus, the taste is not perceived under the plastic and the label can be changed to a new one, with a later date. This type of manipulation is done for cakes, cold cuts, creams, salads and other bulk products.

So try to buy products in the original packaging of the manufacturer.

4. Other substances are added to minced meat

Powdered preservatives, animal by-products (lungs, tongue, etc.) and ice are added to minced meat . It is therefore difficult to examine the quality of the final product, and fresh meat which is about to expire can be minced for resale in this form.

Only buy this product from butcher shops that can mince meat in front of you , and make sure the place is clean.

3. Ready meals are made from foods that have expired.

The ready-to-eat food shelves were not created for the convenience of customers, but to sell items that are approaching their expiration date . The pizzas, salads and cakes are made with foods that will soon expire: roast chicken not sold, croutons, cookies, etc. Meat, for example, is marinated.

You’re unlikely to get intoxicated with this, but be careful: if you buy ready-made food, eat it the same day and don’t store it in the refrigerator.

2. Frozen foods are sold as fresh products.

Meat and fish are very often thawed and sold in the fresh section. If the food has been frozen once and thawed using the cold chain, you are not at risk. But sometimes thawing takes place at room temperature, microorganisms reproduce, and the top layer begins to damage itself, while the food is still frozen inside.

You can recognize this type of food because of the excess humidity or frost on the surface: concerning the meat, it will not be very elastic (if you press on it with your finger, it will not return to its original shape. ). For fish, the presence of mucus should put you on the spot.

1. Labels bearing an expiration date and packaging are replaced by new

Sometimes it happens that supermarkets change labels to extend the expiration date of products.

If you see multiple layers of labels, that’s an alarming sign: maybe the product is already out of date. It is better to buy food, the expiration date of which is indicated by the manufacturer himself. Also check the date on the label: the date on the packaging does not mean that the product is fresh.

Some additional tips:

Don’t forget your ticket. Thanks to it, you can return damaged products. Otherwise, you can request to see the security camera videos.
When you leave the cash register, reread your receipt. The more you buy, the more likely it is that they added an additional product, or that a wrong price was listed.
Weigh packaged foods well so you don’t pay more. For example, fruit may become drier, but the price on the label will not have changed.
Don’t be ashamed to ask for food information.
Buy only in authorized places.
Complain if the service is bad and the merchandise is of poor quality!