5 food items that nutrition experts won’t buy at the grocerty store

Stocking your pantry is not such an easy feat when trying to be healthy. The truth is that not all the foods sold there are good for your health, especially those which are characterized by being fresh products but which are sold packaged in these types of stores.

According to a report by Huffpost, these are the five foods that nutrition experts do not recommend buying in supermarkets.

The 5 foods you should avoid buying in the supermarket (for health reasons)

Ready-to-eat foods

Food that is prepared directly in supermarkets and sold in the ready-to-go section is very prone to becoming filled with bacteria since it is difficult to keep them safe.

In fact, the United States Department of Agriculture classifies them within the “danger zone” because it is easier for bacteria to develop, especially if they remain inside a container for too long. more than two hours.

Pre-cut fruit

According to Darin Detwiler, president of the Food Safety Program of the National Environmental Health Association, on many occasions, the health measures used by workers are not usually correct when handling fruit.

There is no easy way “to tell if these are not suitable for consumption, for example, if they are rotten, stale or fermented,” until you get home, says Detwiler.

Lettuce in bag

Bagged lettuce is the cause of several E.coli and listeria outbreaks due to a lack of “transparency and traceability” in stores, so it is best to buy the lettuce fresh and disinfect it at home.

“Why, after all these incidents, would we still open a bag of leafy greens ’pre-washed’ mixed and ready to eat?”, Detwiler questions, adding that food safety is “more important than convenience.”

Melon

While it is not recommended to buy pre-cut fruit in general, melon is one of the most dangerous since “they have an exterior that cannot be cleaned properly to kill pathogens”, while“the pH of the interior favors the rapid growth of pathogens”.

In 2011, cantaloupe was the cause of a national listeria outbreak that killed at least 33 people and sickened 147 others.

Counter products (Delicatessen)

Experts also do not recommend buying meat or chicken at counters, commonly known as Delicatessen.

“Employees often know little about food safety, they don’t follow ‘first in, first out’ policies, they have no idea where the product comes from or how long it has been there”, says Detwiler.