I don`t know if our food is safe these days.
By DINNERLADY
@lazydaizee (6735)
United Kingdom
July 25, 2023 5:01am CST
I have always thought that the food I buy in well known shops and supermarkets would be safe to eat. After all, it all has to go through health and safety checks. But since last week I have now changed my mind about food safety after a couple of incidents that happened to myself and a friend.
My friend works in a large warehouse where they have vending machines . She used one of these vending machines to buy herself a Kit Kat. When she opened it she found that it had gone mouldy, so she complained to the person in charge. She was told that she could only get her money back if she contacted the company that owns the vending machine.
Then after buying some watercress to have with a salad , I found an unidentifiable plant in the bag with it. I took it back to the shop where I brought it but none of the staff seemed concerned about it. I did manage to get a refund for it though.
9 people like this
8 responses
@wiLLmaH (8802)
• Singapore, Singapore
9 Nov 23
Oh, it's quite unsettling when you have these unexpected surprises in your food purchases! It does make you reevaluate your trust in the food supply chain. It's true that we often assume the products we buy from well-known shops and supermarkets are thoroughly inspected for quality and safety.
I'm glad to hear you and your friend were able to get refunds, but sometime, in this case like this we want some explanations.
2 people like this
@Fleura (30471)
• United Kingdom
9 Nov 23
@lazydaizee You should have taken a photo and we could try to identify the plant for you!
1 person likes this
@lazydaizee (6735)
• United Kingdom
9 Nov 23
Yes, I would have liked to find out what it was that I found in my watercress. For all I know it could have been something toxic, and I would have liked to know where it came from. I always thought that watercress was grown in special watercress farms with nothing else growing nearby.
2 people like this
@lazydaizee (6735)
• United Kingdom
9 Nov 23
@Fleura I could have done that but I did not think about it at the time. I know what to do next time if it happens again. It could make for another interesting discussion while we are all deciding what sort of plant or weed it is.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (471737)
• Switzerland
25 Jul 23
Food can get moldy if there is a lot of humidity, as Kit Kat has a sort of biscuit inside, I am not surprised it happened if it was transported in bad conditions. Plants mixed to salads unfortunately happen, as now most of the time it's not humans who place the plants in the bags.
2 people like this
@lazydaizee (6735)
• United Kingdom
26 Jul 23
This is going to be another problem that we will get if human jobs are replaced by machines, at least a human being would have seen that the plant should not have been there.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (471737)
• Switzerland
26 Jul 23
@lazydaizee Exactly, the packing is made almost only by machines in our days.
2 people like this
@lazydaizee (6735)
• United Kingdom
28 Jul 23
@LadyDuck I think they should have people checking the products rather than relying on machines, but I suppose it is cheaper for the suppliers to use machines. After all, machines do not need an hourly wage or holiday pay. But it is a shame because people are losing jobs everywhere.
2 people like this
@AmbiePam (93297)
• United States
25 Jul 23
I’m glad you at least got a refund. I saw a video of a loaf of bread with a tiny mouse in the bread bag, and I couldn’t believe it was in an actual grocery store. I guess it happens though. Unfortunately, our food is often subject to circumstances we have no control over, and often don’t know about.
2 people like this
@lazydaizee (6735)
• United Kingdom
26 Jul 23
I once found a dark black hair in a loaf of bread. I took this back to the shop and they gave me some vouchers to say sorry, This was several years ago now and I doubt if the staff would be bothered to do anything about it these days.
2 people like this
@Marilynda1225 (82871)
• United States
2 Aug 23
Just recently I heard of a food store here (Trader Joes) that had to recall their cookies because they might have rocks in them.
2 people like this
@Marilynda1225 (82871)
• United States
4 Aug 23
@lazydaizee usually you hear about contamination but this was first that I heard of rocks in cookies.
1 person likes this
@lazydaizee (6735)
• United Kingdom
4 Aug 23
That was bad, I wonder how they got rocks in them. I often see notices of foods that have been recalled for some reason.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (340653)
• Rockingham, Australia
27 Jul 23
@lazydaizee If something doesn't directly affect some people, they simply don't care.
2 people like this
@lazydaizee (6735)
• United Kingdom
28 Jul 23
@JudyEv This does seem to be the thing these days, but it is a shame that people have stopped caring about each other.
2 people like this
@lazydaizee (6735)
• United Kingdom
26 Jul 23
I was worried about the plant in the watercress being toxic, and maybe there would be more in other customer`s packs. But the people in the shop just shrugged and said they did not know what it was. If I had been working there I would have demanded that somebody did some tests on it.
2 people like this
@LindaOHio (179778)
• United States
25 Jul 23
I'm glad you got a refund. These things happen from time to time unfortunately. Enjoy your day.
2 people like this
@LindaOHio (179778)
• United States
27 Jul 23
@lazydaizee Sorry about that! I hope you have a good day.
2 people like this
@lazydaizee (6735)
• United Kingdom
26 Jul 23
I did get a refund but I was looking forward to eating my watercress because it is supposed to be a healthy food. Now I do not fancy watercress anymore.
1 person likes this
@lazydaizee (6735)
• United Kingdom
28 Jul 23
@LindaOHio I did have a good day once I sorted it all out.
2 people like this
@Fleura (30471)
• United Kingdom
9 Nov 23
@lazydaizee Weedkillers generally kill all broad-leaved plants (so they can be used to kill non-grass plants in lawns, for example, and also weeds in cereal crops), but I guess it would be much more difficult to eradicate broad-leaved weeds from among similar plants.
1 person likes this
@lazydaizee (6735)
• United Kingdom
11 Nov 23
@Fleura We also have to be aware of the nasty chemicals that can be found in some weed killers too, I know that some have been banned recently.
1 person likes this
@lazydaizee (6735)
• United Kingdom
9 Nov 23
Maybe they do not like to use weed killers because of the chemicals, and not all the weeds can be removed by hand because it would take too long.
With the vending machines, I would have thought that whoever was sent in to fill them up could also check the freshness of old stock. Perhaps they were sloppy and just put the new stock in front of the older stock and some of it got left at the back too long.
1 person likes this
