How safe is your supermarket?

[spazntwitch]

In an unprecedented report, NBC News ranks the top 10 grocery chains in the country in Dateline's 'Supermarket Sweep'

Americans spend nearly half a trillion dollars a year in the supermarket. In fact, most of us make a trip to the grocery store twice a week. While we wouldn’t shop in a store we didn’t think was safe (and there are tens of thousands of stores across the country that handle food safely), if there is one thing we’ve learned in Dateline’s year-long “Supermarket Sweep,” it’s that you can’t assume your grocery is as clean as it should be.

Ave. no. of critical violations per 10 inspections* / Store chain
• 25 / Safeway
• 24 / Albertsons
• 22 / Publix
• 17 / Kroger
• 14 / Winn-Dixie
• 12 / Sam's Club
• 12 / Costco
• 09 / Wal-Mart
• 09 / Save-A-Lot
• 08 / Food Lion
*Average number of critical violations, for every 10 routine inspections. Click here for more on the methodology.

 

[He3x]

Well, some germs are good for our immune system. We can't expect everything to be germ-free, otherwise we can't go camping, backpacking, traveling, etc
Besides, by visual inspections, Safeway seems to be the cleanest grocery stores nearby, although we don't go there often since they're a bit more expensive.

 

[jl514]

having worked at a supermarket for a while, i can honestly say that a lot of these "violations" you dont have to worry about. Many violations they cite as critical violations are things that in rare cases COULD affect the customer. For instance, my store's produce department once failed a health/safety inspection for having open cups of coffee in the prep room. The coffee was not old, it was 6am and the employees drink coffee.. not really a big deal. But to health & safety it was.

In response to another issue raised, since i started working at the supermarket, they've had mouse traps strategically set near warehouse entrances. Solely a preventative measure.. I never saw, nor heard of rats in the store.

We also had fruit fly traps (which were quickly scrapped because they were more hassle than they were worth).

Expired items aren't that surprising either. Imagine being responsible for the entire dairy secition. OUr milk section has 5 bossies of milk, each holding 120 gallons of milk. Basically my only response to the "OMG EXPIRED GOODS1111!1one" is.. "**** happens, check the label before you buy"

But yea, roaches are disgusting.

 

[a410s]

They've come a long way from The Dented Can: Be afraid. Be Very Afraid. Surprisingly, there was only one store mentioned as having live birds inside. At a local grocery store near me, there are wild sparrows indoors so regularly that you almost feel let down if you don't see one. I mean, how good can the food really be if wild birds won't shop there anymore?

I agree with the observations about germ phobia, although I expect it's a thin-end-of-the-wedge situation: if you start letting stores get away with a tiny bit of violations, then unethical people will interpret that as permission to start selling truly foul products, such as some on eBay already do thanks to the relative anonymity.

 

[Heidi Kickhouse]

Okay, now I'm curious ...

What is a bossie of milk exactly ?
(I can't wait to find out and start throwing that expression around.)

Thanks!

 

[StefaniLyn]

I saw this report on Dateline last night. It was, to say the least, somewhat disturbing. As a mother of 3, I realize that children NEED to be exposed to some germs or they will get violently ill every time they get a little cold. Yes, some germs are good for the immune system. However, I am also the mother of a child who has a decreased immune system, and I have every right to expect that food I bring home from the grocery store is safe for her. Certain bacteria, such as e.coli or c. diff, even in small amounts, can cause catastrophic illness for her. Last year alone, she was hospitalized on 2 separate occasions for 1 week each because of c.diff. I'm not blaming supermarkets for this because she wasn't even eating any regular foods at the time. But when she does starting eating food, I expect it to be free from bacteria, not expired, and safe for her to consume. My point is that supermarkets have a responsibility to abide by the laws that regulate them. If they don't like the regulations, they shouldn't be in business. Regulations and inspectors are in place for a reason - to keep the general public safe. If employees need to have coffee, then they need to store it in the appropriate place, not around food that is going to be sold to customers. There are break rooms for things such as that. All of these violations are not little "oops"es. They qualify as serious offenses because they could potentially make someone sick, or even worse, kill them. VERY worrisome if you ask me.

 

[precocious]

Supermarkets are dirty! Over the years I've seen and heard of so many disgusting practices. Years back I dated a butcher that when the chicken started to go bad, they gave the chicken a 'bleach bath', repackaged it at a discount price!

Just this past Thanksgiving, I went to P*th**rk and they had a whole section of items (gravy, yams, cranberry sauce, stuffing, etc.) all together - how convenient! Then after I loaded my cart and was at the register taking the items from the cart I smelled a strange smell! Turned out, the exterminator had been in earlier and SPRAYED PESTICIDES all over the section, so the whole section was contaminated. When I alerted the Manager, no one really jumped to correct this. (After all, what could they do will all the food besides sell it?? You know they weren't going to throw it away....)

P.S. As a teen, my brothers and I worked in various supermakets and the stories we could tell!

 

[Faerieglamour]

Just a couple weeks ago I bought a bottle of ranch dressing at Walmart. When I got home I noticed it was a MONTH past the "best if used by" date. I mean, come on! I took it back and they asked me if there was anything wrong with it... LOL ...I said yes. hahahahahaha