On 8/8/2013 11:59 AM, Doris Night wrote:
> On Wed, 7 Aug 2013 22:31:11 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> > wrote:
>
>> Well, I haven't had the best of luck with their produce. I have bought the
>> refrigerated cooked beets but you can get those at other places too. Did
>> not see any today. I did buy some heirloom tomatoes today and two red bell
>> peppers. I hope they are okay. Often they are spoiled. I already have
>> some lettuce so didn't need that.
>
> What is it with American grocery stores and spoiled produce? There are
> three grocery stores in the small town where I shop in Southeastern
> Ontario, and they all have lovely produce. I can't remember ever
> buying anything that had rotted. Anything that is a bit over goes on
> the reduced rack, and I'll buy that stuff on occasion because it's so
> cheap.

Most grocery stores run on very small profit margins, which leads to
the budget grocery stores (those that cater to shoppers looking for
lowest prices instead of highest quality) to practice the following
economies with their produce:

A. Purchasing cheaper, lower-graded produce. Produce that's smaller,
or somewhat damaged, or older - as long as it's cheaper. The big
warehouse grocery stores in my area have consistently terrible
produce. They're going for price, not quality.

B. Minimizing loss by keeping it on the shelf longer. Again, where a
higher-margin store may chuck stuff that no longer meets its stricter
criteria, the budget grocery stores will be reluctant to toss it until
it shows visible signs of decay.

So the customers at the smaller grocery stores, or the budget grocery
stores, are more likely to have to pick through second- or third-rate
produce, and have it spoil faster on them when they get it home.

By the way, TJ's is not a budget grocery store, and contrary to
Julie's assertion, they tend to have higher quality products,
including produce, at their stores. Julie's the one with the problems,
not TJ's.