We’re not trying to freak you out here. Really. But when we started digging into how grocery stores actually worked, we were pretty shocked by some of the stuff we found.
We’re not talking about whether organic food is worth the money, or how much junk food you should eat. Instead, we’re focusing here on how to best navigate your local supermarket to avoid money traps and unsafe foods.
Our list of fourteen tips for navigating the grocery store will help you know what to watch out for the next time you shop. If nothing else, this list may make you lose your appetite for a while, saving you some money on food this week.
1. Shopping Carts Are Not Clean
What’s dirtier than a public bathroom, and you touch it right before handling your food? Well, I guess the title gives away the answer. Grocery store shopping carts have more germs than public restrooms. Don’t believe us? A 2007 University of Arizona study, “found that shopping carts were loaded with more saliva, bacteria and even fecal matter than escalators, public telephones and even public bathrooms.” So make sure you minimize your direct contact with shopping carts, and if you have to use one, don’t touch your fresh foods directly without sanitizing your hands.
2. Your Children Can Get Sick (Or Get Others Sick)
If you want to take your child with you to the store, consider buying a shopping cart cover to insulate them from the germs and bacteria. It may sound silly, but children with less developed immune systems are even more susceptible to picking up an infection. Plus, they may spread their own cooties onto the shopping cart, too.
3. Healthy Foods Are Hard to Get
Grocery stores want you to buy junk food, so they place more healthful foods in harder to reach spots. The most eye-catching foods—usually candies and other colorful items that are bad for you—are placed in coveted locations at the forefront of each aisle or at eye-level. But this rule extends to all sections in the store. If you want whole wheat pasta, you generally have to dig through the less healthful variety in front. For more tips on finding what you really need in the store, read the next post.
4. Store Layouts Are Designed to Trick You Into Buying More
Have you ever wondered why most grocery stores put milk as far away from the entrance as possible? Supermarkets hope to lure shoppers into buying other goods in the store on the way to the products they really need. That’s why baked goods and meats are usually far away, too. If you don’t want to make impromptu additions to your grocery list, just shop around the edges of the store so you aren’t baited into the candy section.
