So I was in the grocery store this morning buying three rolls of toilet paper and a bottle of seltzer with a credit card, as I am wont to do. (It was on my way back from the gym and I had brought a credit card just for this purpose. I didn’t have any cash, I don’t like to bring my wallet to the gym, and I don’t like to have to futz with lockers).
supermarkets
Should Artificially Colored Meat Have A Warning Label?
By 10.2.07
Over a year and a half ago, we alerted readers to the sneaky practice of using carbon monoxide to indefinitely preserve raw meat’s red color—several stores admitted to the practice, and while the small amount of gas used does not pose a health risk, the perma-red meat can make it harder to detect spoilage. Now, in the wake of so many food and product safety scandals, the government has proposed a new mandatory warning label as part of the Food and Drug Import Safety Act of 2007. It would read:
Carbon monoxide has been used to preserve the color of this product. Do not rely on color or the ‘use or freeze by’ date alone to judge the freshness or safety of the product. Discard any product with an unpleasant odor, slime, or a bulging package.
By 9.25.07
../../../..//2007/09/25/product-expiration-codes-decoded-gary/
Product expiration codes decoded. [Gary]
Why Generic Is Just As Good: Sometimes It's Just A Different Wrapper?
By 9.25.07
This random, unverified comment scavenged from Metafilter archives syncs in with our preconceived notions and suspicions just enough that we’re going to publish it and wonder aloud if it is true:
When I was a kid I remember taking a tour of the big Wonder Bread factory in our town. I was scarred for life when I realized that one of the production lines for loaves of bread that I was following split into two packaging lanes just before the plastic went over the loaf. One lane was for Wonder, the other was for the local supermarket brand.
Is it really all just packaging? Bring on the blind taste tests.
Whole Foods Mocks FTC By Actually Lowering Prices In Colorado Stores
By 9.5.07
Now that the Whole Foods organic supermarket chain has finally completed its acquisition of former competitor Wild Oats Markets, it’s time for the horrible price gouging we were warned about to kick in. That’s why today Whole Foods announced a permanent price reduction at all Wild Oats stores in the Rocky Mountain Region, and stated that all Wild Oats stores in its hometown of Boulder will remain unchanged. Wait—what? Of course, this amounts to mostly a publicity stunt (or goodwill gesture, depending on your level of cynicism); at least one Wild Oats store in another part of the country has already been closed.
Kroger Illegally Charging Tax On Food Stamps When Used With Coupons
By 8.27.07
“I do the grocery shopping for my partner who is totally disabled. He is paralyzed on the right side and suffers from quite a few other health related issues. When we moved to Savannah, Georgia two years ago, I noticed that when I used his EBT (food stamp) card at a Kroger store that I was being charged tax on food coupons. While Georgia is a state that does charge tax on grocery store food, and some grocery coupons state that it is the customer’s responsibility to pay any tax, it is illegal to charge food stamp recipients tax no matter what.”
Meijer Uses Receipts To Warn Customers They Bought Products Recalled For Botulism
By 8.22.07
Instead of just printing coupons on the receipt, Meijer put this warning, using purchase history tracked to her credit card, that reader Sarah may have purchased products recalled for botulism.
For Little Apparent Reason, Spiral Mac N Cheese Costs 37 Cents More Than Elbow
By 8.20.07
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Spirals cost 37 cents more per box than regular Elbow variety, despite the former weighing 1.75 oz less than the latter, reports the thoughts on technology blog. This breaks down to a difference of $.06/oz, vs $.14/oz. That’s 24% fewer noodles, with a 133% price increase.
By 8.16.07
../../../..//2007/08/16/20-ways-to-save-money/
20 Ways to Save Money at the Grocery Store [Curbly]
Would You Buy Groceries With A Fingerprint?
By 7.25.07
Jewel-Osco, a Midwest supermarket, introduced a biometric payment system. After signing up and associating your fingerprint with your credit card, you can buy groceries just by pushing your finger on a reader at checkout and entering your “search number.”
By 7.13.07
../../../..//2007/07/13/a-photoblog-celebrating-the-grocery/
A photoblog celebrating the grocery stores of yesteryear. The site’s author says he would, “be happiest if supermarket evolution had ceased around 1968 or so.” [Groceteria via Your Daily Awesome]
By 7.7.07
../../../..//2007/07/07/four-strawberries-for-4-two/
Four strawberries for $4, two pounds of asparagus from $34, and Ostrich eggs for $54 are just some of the many “deals” at the new Whole Foods in London: “What used to be said about Rolls Royce cars now holds true for potatoes: If you have to ask the price, you can’t afford one.”
Whole Foods Adopts Bank-Style Checkout Lines
By 6.24.07
Whole Foods in Manhattan has made checkout line races a thing of the past by adopting newfangled bank-style checkout lanes. The new system queues shoppers in a single line, directing them to checkout counters as cashiers become available.
The single-line, bank-style system was quickly chosen for its statistical efficiency. Then, Whole Foods paired the system with possibly the largest number of registers in the city, more than 30 per store, and it hired an army of cashiers to staff them throughout the day (including “floaters” to fill in for those who need a break).
What Is "Tare," And How Does It Impact Everything In The Supermarket?
By 5.31.07
“Tare” or “tare weight” is the weight of an empty container. Tare is not included in a goods’ net weight. So, for instance, 32-oz jar of mayo on the supermarket shelf should actually weight more than two pounds.
VIDEO: Tie This Easy Knot On Produce Bags For Drawstring Access
By 4.18.07
You know how it is, picking at knots for minutes, whittling down your fingernails, and then you get frustrated and say forget it, I’m going to eat some cookies from this nice, easy jar.
Flatter Your Favorite Brands For Coupons
By 4.15.07
Faye over at “The Dollar Stretcher” doesn’t wait for desirable coupons to appear in the weekly circular. She writes directly to her favorite brands asking for coupons. The results are surprising.
Since September, I have been sending emails and making toll-free phone calls to manufacturers who make the products we like. The email I send is nearly the same for each company. First, I let them know how much our family likes their product. Then I mention that I am a stay-at-home mom who needs to stick to a budget. Next, I politely ask if they have any coupons available. Finally, I thank them again for such a great product. Here are the results of my little coupon request experiment:
San Francisco Modifies The Age-Old Question: Paper Or Plastic?
By 4.1.07
San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors voted 10-1 to ban the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags; supermarkets across the city will retrain their employees to ask: paper or biodegradable plastic?
The Plastic Bag Reduction Ordinance, written by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi and Co., sponsored by six other supervisors, gives major supermarket chains with more than $2 million in annual sales six months to make the switch to biodegradable bags. Pharmacies and retailers with at least five locations have one year. Violators face fines of up to $500.
Supermarkets have let economics guide their choice between paper and plastic. Paper bags cost four cents, while plastic bags cost a penny. The largest San Francisco supermarket hands out 125 million plastic bags each year.
Longer Lasting Supermarket Bread: Ask For The Frozen Loaves
By 3.28.07
Want your bread to last longer?
