Weekly E-Zine for Wealthy Healthy Wise
Vignettes to make Life a Little Better and More Prosperous
Ten things that you need to know about super markets
1. Shopping carts are a haven for "bad bugs." Carts and their handles are touched by all kinds of people - kids with snotty noses, people who used the rest room and didn't wash their hands, people on their way home from work (hospital employees, sanitation workers, septic tank people) - the list goes on and on. On the whole, we are inundated with commercials about how dirty our homes are and the cleaners we need to purchase to alleviate this problem. The grocery store is the one place we need to take sanitary wipes and clean the handles and toddler seats of grocery carts.
2. Dates on packages mean little. Some are suggestions and some are expiration dates. Dates on meat should be respected and used or
frozen if not used immediately (if they have not been frozen before it was put on the shelf). I have described the way meat is raised, processed and packaged before and if you are willing to eat meat from a store, you are on your own - I wouldn't eat it unless it comes from an Organic/Health food store.
3. Junk/unhealthy kid foods are placed at kid's eye level so that all the money spent on TV advertising will not be wasted. Children will beg for these items and whine or cry until they get their way.
4. They preseason foods (meat counter) or cut up produce to "save you time" but this is a way for stores to make a higher profit. It is best for you to prepare your own foods at home. Also, the seasoning in stores probably contain MSG and other things you don't want to eat.
5. The most expensive foods (most profitable) and the least nutritious foods are at adult eye level. Better quality/healthy foods are on the top and/or bottom shelves to make you work harder to pick them up.
6. Displays at the end of aisles are there to get your attention. Some times there may be a new product but most of the time it is not a good deal price wise and the displays are there for impulse buying. Most people don't realize that grocery stores don't make much money selling products - the mark up is low. Where they make money is by charging corporations a premium for the location of their products. The end of the isle will be one special price, eye level center of the isle another price, and lower shelves a different price.
7. Bargains are not always what they seem. Buy 5 get one free may not be such a good deal. Be prepared to do the math or skip the specials.
8. When I was in the Army, if my wife went down an aisle the wrong way, you would get run over and receive disgusted looks like "you dummy, can't you follow the foot prints on the floor?" It may not be that obvious in stores today but believe me they have paths that the store wants you to follow to affect your buying habits. It may be hot bread, cookies, snacks or other items on the way to the back of the store for beer, eggs, or maybe milk. The temptation for impulse buying will take over on some item for most people.
9. Salad bars in restaurants and grocery stores have a great potential for harboring bacteria from colds and dirty hands. If temperatures are not observed to the letter - hot & cold foods will be bacteria laden in a very short while, thereby causing severe illness or death in some people. The more someone else's hands are involved when coming in contact with foods, the higher the risk of you becoming ill.
10. Look for signs of poor cleanliness - flies, roaches, unclean `display cases and shelves. Health departments inspect but they can't be there every day.
Dr Bob the Health Builder www.drbobthehealthbuilder.com
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