When a customer returns a sealed, non-perishable grocery item, the store can often donate it or get credit from the supplier. But what happens when the return is a shattered jar of pickles or a leaking bottle of olive oil? A broken container with spilled food presents a unique challenge that goes beyond a simple…
We see them in every grocery store: “multibuy” deals like “2 for $5” or “10 for $10.” These promotions are designed to encourage you to buy more of a product. However, in a surprising number of cases, the way these deals are enforced is technically illegal. In several states and cities, consumer protection laws require…
We all have a mental grocery list of the staple items we buy on every shopping trip. Without thinking, we will grab a new carton of eggs or a bottle of ketchup, assuming we are running low. However, this kind of autopilot shopping is a major source of food waste and unnecessary spending. Many common…
You have finished your shopping, your cart is full, and you are ready to leave the store. However, you may have noticed that the path to the exit is no longer a simple, straight line. Modern retail designers have transformed the front end of the store into a carefully engineered environment of obstacles and temptations.…
If you have a keen eye, you may have noticed that the Nutrition Facts panel on your favorite packaged foods looks different from what it did a few years ago. These changes are not your imagination. Food manufacturers have been quietly altering their nutrition labels for a variety of reasons, ranging from new federal regulations…
For a coffee lover, the description on the front of the bag is a promise. Words like “bright,” “smooth,” or “bold” set an expectation for the taste experience to come. However, in the face of rising coffee bean prices and supply chain volatility, many major brands have quietly altered their classic blends, hoping customers will…
You see it on almost every food package you buy: a “Best If Used By,” “Sell By,” or “Use By” date. We are trained to treat these dates as a hard deadline for when a food is no longer safe to eat, leading to a massive amount of food waste. The surprising truth, however, is…
Vacuum sealing has become a popular food preservation method for savvy home cooks and emergency preppers alike. By removing all the oxygen from a package, a vacuum sealer dramatically slows down the process of spoilage from mold, mildew, and bacteria. This can extend the shelf life of pantry staples far beyond what is possible with…
Grocery stores are legally required to maintain a clean and sanitary environment to ensure food safety. However, the day-to-day reality of maintaining a massive store’s cleanliness often falls short of the ideal. We asked several current and former grocery store employees to share the truth about their store’s cleaning practices. Their anonymous stories reveal a…
The bulk bin aisle of a grocery store is a favorite for many budget-conscious and eco-friendly shoppers. It allows you to buy the exact amount of an ingredient you need, which reduces both food and packaging waste. However, the major food manufacturers that produce the brand-name, packaged versions of these same products see the bulk…
Bagged salad mixes are the definition of convenience, but they are also one of the highest-risk products in the grocery store for foodborne illness. The complex journey from the field to the bag involves a huge amount of processing and handling, which creates many opportunities for contamination. Leafy greens are frequently the subject of recalls…
The front of a food package is a battlefield for your attention, and marketers use a powerful arsenal of unregulated buzzwords to win your trust. These terms are carefully chosen to make a product seem healthier, higher-quality, or more wholesome than it is. However, because these words have no official, legally binding definition from the…
It is one of the most frustrating moments in modern grocery shopping. You do all the work of clipping digital coupons in the store’s app, but when you enter your phone number at checkout, some of the discounts fail to apply. The coupon that was active just minutes before seems to have vanished into thin…
The “mystery box” has become a popular sales gimmick for online retailers. It is a pre-packaged bundle of goods sold at a discount, with the catch being that the customer does not know exactly what is inside. But what happens behind the scenes when a customer places an order for one of these boxes and…
Shoppers across the country have reported an unsettling trend in the meat department of their local grocery stores. They are seeing an increase in meat products sold in generic, unlabeled, or poorly labeled packaging. This can range from a simple, butcher-paper-wrapped package with a handwritten sticker to a vacuum-sealed tray with no clear brand name…
The endcaps, those displays at the end of each grocery store aisle, are the most valuable real estate in the entire store. Brands pay a premium to have their products featured in these high-traffic locations, and retailers use them to drive impulse purchases. While they are often designed to look like a special sale, endcaps…