12 worst supermarkets in the U.S. (Ugh. Mine is on the list. )

[No Elephants]

Thank goodness, I also shop from small vendors in my neighborhood. Then again, they probably get even less scrutiny than the big boys and girls.

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2012/04/13/The-12-Worst-Supermarkets-in-America#page1

Now, you can see if yours in on the list, if you want to know.

[Enthusiast]

1. Great topic!

Apparently there is zero scrutiny of our local Kroger store.

They simply will not remove out of date food from the shelves if there is any hope that someone might buy it by mistake. They are apparently hoping that someone will buy this stuff by mistake. It's to the point where the customer must diligently guard against buying what might be an actual threat to their health.

They will allow mushrooms to rot in their containers rather than remove them from the shelves. Once when we bought parsnips we found them to be hollowed out from ages of dehydration. Pet food that had been recalled was NEVER removed from the shelves. This was the pet food that was killing pets nationwide. I seriously doubt that anything is removed from the shelves even when there is a dire national warning. You have to be lucky to survive our grocery store. And it is the only game in town - small community.

The local Krogers is the exception for a Krogers store, however. When we travel out of town to a Krogers grocery store we seldom have complaints about out of date products or dirty conditions.

A Meijers we visited had fish so out of date that the smell was actually painful. I have never before experienced smell so strong that it was painful. It was an ammonia odor. The same Meijers is actually very nice and is really a model of cleanliness. We just caught them on an off day. We have encountered bad fish days in several other grocery stores.

Due to my gluten-free requirements, grocery store trips can be especially trying. We can seldom find everything we need at one store. Due to my physical limitations I can only manage to walk around one store. After the first store my wife is usually on her own. Unless I use one of the little go carts to drive around the store. How embarrassing, when at only 60 years old I'm in a cart when there are people well over 70 or even 80 working all over the store. I usually wait in the van and listen to the radio.

Meat is a special problem for me. Krogers and several other manufacturers add a gluten related material to various meat products. It is used as a thickening agent, flavor enhancer and as part of a marinade. We have to search for the chicken breast marked "gluten-free". Because turkey, chicken, ham and various beef cuts have gluten contaminated "juice" injected into them. There should be a law!

Thank God for our supply of venison. Many women are squeamish about Bambi. My wife likes venison. And she understands that venison contains no steroids or antibiotics. I was a hunter for many years. The venison I shot supplied most of our meat requirements. My last hunting year was 2001.

[No Elephants]

2. Well, there is a law, but it mostly requires only that you be told what the

ingredients are. I guess for uncooked meat, you don't always have to be told eithr.

I have never had venison or buffalo. Only beef and lamb and poultry. Really, I would prefer a vegan diet, but it's too hard for me to fill up on veggies alone, unless I make a stew or soup and have a carb on the side, like bread. I don't always have the motivation to do all that prep and clean up.

Also, if you go vegan you have to food shop very often. I can buy a bunch of meat or chicken, wrap it and freeze it and use it when I need it. If necessary, I can pick up some veg or tomatoes and organic salad mix at the convenience store. (Not driving is a significant factor in my food shopping plans.)

So, the veggies often just get to accompany meat or poultry or eggs or cheese.