Friday, December 2, 2011

Food buying tips to save you time and money

These food buying tips are for when you are purchasing groceries in supermarkets or other retail locations, we all know how confusing and overwhelming it can be to go grocery shopping on a regular basis. Sometimes what you have on your list is not fresh when you arrive to the grocery store. Sometimes you can go to the same grocery store that you have been going to for years and find that they no longer carry your favorite food or beverage item.


A lot of the time you are probably are in a rush to get your grocery shopping completed so you can go back home and relax. Unfortunately, you do need to examine the products before you toss them into your cart. Food buying tips for you and your family can help a lot in getting good, quality, fresh products in your kitchen.
When you first arrive at the grocery store your first hit should be the canned goods you need. Your final items before you go through the checkout should be your perishable items such as refrigerated foods, frozen foods, and deli foods.


Food Buying Tips For Produce
Oftentimes this can be one of the most difficult kinds of food to shop for. Produce is an unpredictable item because of the way they might be handled by others. Refuse to buy any fruit or vegetable that has been damaged. If you buy freshly cut produce make sure you rest it in ice at home. Other produce should be in your refrigerator within two hours of buying it. Wash all of your produce with cold water – no soaps of any kind; they can leave a residue.
Food Buying Tips For Meats
Check the meat packaging before buying. Be on the lookout for any holes in the package, any wear, and be sure that the package is cool when you touch it. Don’t buy any meat that is not refrigerated or kept cold in some way. Keep your raw meats away from your other food products so there is no cross-contaminataion. When you get home put the meats in a plastic bag that can be sealed so nothing leaks.
Food Buying Tips For Canned and Boxed Foods
Make sure you check the packaging on canned and food products. Check for any swelling, holes, leaking, or moisture. Do not buy any canned or boxed food products with these problems. If you see any signs of damage don’t buy it.
Many people suffer from bacterial illnesses from cross contamination of products. You can avoid this by keeping meat products away from others, and bagging them when you get home. Clean up any spills right away. You should also consider owning several cutting boards – one for meats, one for cheeses, and one for produce.

Our Responsibility
It might be far and in between but have you ever stumbled on some outdated food, an opened package, or a real rotten smell over in the produce or meat department of your local supermarket. Usually I would pick the item up put it back and decide to purchase it somewhere else.manufacturer, farm provider, or distributor of the product they would definitely want to know. On most products there is a consumer hotline that is dedicated so that the manufacturers can get first hand information about their products.
The same goes for restaurants, deli shops, and food vendors if it doesn’t smell right or look to be fresh don’t eat it. If you see major violations or unsanitary conditions you need to report it to the right local authority i.e., Licensing and Inspections, Health Department, etc. as you might decide to eat it but what about the next person or child who might eat the food?

No comments:

Post a Comment