A grocery store worker has issued a warning: the produce you buy at the grocery store might not be as fresh as you expect.
In a video with over 1.4 million views, TikTok user Izzy (@izzybizzyglizzzy) shows how he’s “exposing grocery stores” after revealing what his store does when fruit has started to show signs of mold.
“What we do is called ‘reworking,’” he explains, holding a basket of strawberries. “We’re taking out the moldy stuff in here, throwing it away, then putting it and saving some of it in here, or it goes back on the floor.”
He then demonstrates by removing moldy strawberries from the basket, then pouring the rest into a bowl.
“This becomes ‘this,’” he states, showing a container of mixed fruit slices. “Cut up, sold for way more money.”
Izzy further shows how the same practice is done with blueberries.
“If you come across something moldy in your pantry or fridge, it’s best to throw away the food entirely,” Izzy writes in the caption. “It may appear the mold has only reached a few slices of bread or pieces of fruit, but it is probably widespread.”
While this may be the case with bread, experts say that picking the fresh fruit out of the moldy fruit can be OK in some circumstances.
“Food safety experts say that while you shouldn’t eat berries that are obviously moldy, those without visible signs of the spores are fine to eat,” writes Alice Callahan for the New York Times.
Callahan then notes the advice of Dr. Benjamin Chapman, a professor and food safety specialist at North Carolina State University, who suggests “toss[ing] the moldy ones and carefully inspect[ing] adjoining berries for fuzz, which often appears around a bruise or the site of stem attachment.”
That said, Callahan states that visible signs of mold could be indicative that the rest of the fruit is going to get moldy soon as well.
In a TikTok direct message exchange with the Daily Dot, Izzy says that, while this is the only grocery store in which he’s worked, he has “worked at other food establishments and seen they do similar things.”
As far as this practice is concerned, he says he was told to do this by a “supervisor/manager.”
“I have not brought up my concerns to the store,” he notes. “I believe what I say to them won’t change the way they operate their store.”
“I believe [the practice] is wrong and anyone teaching it should know right from wrong regardless, especially if you been manager for over 30 years,” he adds. “I think it’s self understanding.”
@izzybizzyglizzzy If you come across something moldy in your pantry or fridge, it's best to throw away the food entirely. It may appear the mold has only reached a few slices of bread or pieces of fruit, but it is probably widespread. "Spores are extremely hard to detect with the naked eye and they're airborne," said Lee. #rednerswarehousemarkets #groceries #mold #fruit #produce #vegan #woke #toxic #exposed #fypシ゚viral #stores #scary #dirty #work #strawberry #blueberry ♬ original sound – izzy bizzy
Although the practice might be safe, TikTok users in comments were dismayed by this information.
“So that’s why those cut up fruit bowls always taste bad,” said a user.
“I worked at the highest levels in a grocery store for 10+ years, 5+ in Produce alone. This is REAL! I DID IT FORRR YEARSSS! (although my store[s] didn’t call it this),” added another.
“And never again will I be buying it,” declared a third.
That said, some claimed they did not mind this move.
“This is called not wasting,” shared a commenter.
“I mean the only problem is over charging us for that,” offered a second.
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.