11 replies to this topic

[kconf]

Hey guys,

What do you all think of foods at "Sprouts" or other high-end stores that sell organic, keto, paleo stuff? Is is it really worth the price?

Do you think it is better than conventional grocery stores like WM, Giant, Aldi etc.? 

[GMO]

Nope.

We don't have "Sprouts" here but I know the type of store and we have Aldi and Lidl. Sometimes when hierloom varieties or niche types of produce are sold that's pretty cool but that's nothing to do with organic or not. Also often Aldi and Lidl have small suppliers who will sell to them which means you have access to things you may not have tried.  Now on a food safety point of view, Aldi and Lidl don't employ big central Technical teams so a lot of the onus sits on the supplier, that doesn't always work out put it that way... But I still shop there albeit sometimes avoiding some of their practices I find bizarre (thinly sliced packed ham at room temperature? Even if it's traditionally cured, I'm not buying that slicer is always Listeria free.)

[SQFconsultant]

Having had extensive experience with inspecting "supermarkets" i have very little faith in their proper handling of organics and for that matter most other things.

 

For organics we go straight to source and also get many fruits delivered by Fedex from growers outside of Miami - here on the island we have a wonderful organic farm where I can either go and shop at their stand from May thru October or they have you sign up for a subscription and people get boxes of various produced delivered each week.  We also have a new greenhouse operation under development - all of these are organic.

 

We try to maintain a 100% organic kitchen.

 

For true organics i can see where Whole Foods and other 'higher end' stores fit in, but even Aldi's will feature local organic produce from small family farms where available and not for a whole lot more than the conventional border line fake food - to me most processed food is not even food.

 

having stood with a stopwatch running on an unloading dock at some Sam's, Walmart, Trader Joes, Target and whole foods stores there is gross miss-handling of all foods (regardless of organic or not0 at most of these high and lower end stores.

 

One of my friends was recently in a Whole Foods in New Jersey and he mentioned that he decided to not buy the organic lettuce because they were spraying "fresh" water on the heads of lettuce - that "fresh" water was running thru a gallon jug of ChemStation sanitizer.
 

[jfrey123]

I perceive that Sprouts has "cleaner" ingredient labels vs the Big Box Store.  Chocolate sandwich cookies from Sprouts are pretty tasty and tend to have fewer unpronounceable ingredients than Oreos. Heck, my kids like the Winco brand orange cheese crackers vs Cheese-Its, specifically as they have half the salt and therefore taste more like cheese, and I welcome being able to find cleaner snacks.

 

But lately we've seen a big shift in our own retail customers who are publishing lists of prohibited ingredients, likely in response to the latest rumblings from FDA.  I'm sure big American HPFS makers are still going to find corners to cut, but I think we're going to see more retailers mandating a cleaner version of the American classic brands.  

[MDaleDDF]

I don't think too hard about my groceries honestly.   We eat healthy, but I'm not a person who buys into organic much, or any of that kind of thing.   Acid rain falling on it anyway, eh?   Definitely stay away from processed stuff as much as possible.   I'm on a high fiber diet anyway, had about a third of my guts cut out this spring after having a ruptured intestine, getting sepsis, and almost dying, so.....

 

I am lucky to live in a small town, and in the summer there's lots of stands with veggies and fruits of all sorts fresh from the farm, and many folks around me have a stand in front of their house with a buddy system, they just leave the veggies out and you take what you want and stuff the cash into a lock box on the stand.  One of my best buddies has a farm and he gives me all the eggs we can eat (more actually) so I don't worry about store bought eggs either.   We live on the lake so fresh perch and bluegills for eating when my kid catches um.   Many of my buddies hunt deer so they always are giving us venison, and my brother hunts ducks n geese, so can have that whenever we want.   Goose is useless for anything but jerky tho, imho.    Greasy.   Yuk.   Duck is alright.   Actually thinking about planting an orchard at my pole barn property, got around 10 acres with a barn that's just crying out for apple trees.

Personally, I've always thought whole foods, etc, are a bunch of overpriced bs.    But not judging, do what thou wilt....  If people are happier buying it and feel healthy eating it, I say go for it.

Sometimes I think food science folks think too hard tho, lol.    If I saw food safety issues literally everywhere I looked, I'd be miserable.   I buy deli meat sometimes, and I've never gotten sick off it.    Some of the talk on here is borderline paranoia...

[G M]

Hey guys,

What do you all think of foods at "Sprouts" or other high-end stores that sell organic, keto, paleo stuff? Is is it really worth the price?

Do you think it is better than conventional grocery stores like WM, Giant, Aldi etc.? 

 

 

It is rarely worth the premium price it can be had for in most stores.

 

Organic does not objectively confer any nutritional or quality benefits, it only tells you what the product does not contain.  Not what it does contain.  In this sense organic certifications typically have more in common with religious food standards than certifications that are safety or quality based.

[LostInTheWoods]

It is rarely worth the premium price it can be had for in most stores.

 

 

I've read an anecdote from an organic dairy farmer. They run a 100% organic organization. Too much risk in trying to maintain both an organic and non-organic process. So everything is organic, and they sell whatever they can labeled as organic, at the price premium. Then sell what's left as non-organic. So you MAY end up getting organic, even on things not labeled as such.

[Danny123]

I've read an anecdote from an organic dairy farmer. They run a 100% organic organization. Too much risk in trying to maintain both an organic and non-organic process. So everything is organic, and they sell whatever they can labeled as organic, at the price premium. Then sell what's left as non-organic. So you MAY end up getting organic, even on things not labeled as such.

A family member used to work for a milk bottling plant which bottled name brand milk along side the cheaper store brand milk. The only difference was the label slapped on the jug. They even showed me the codes printed on each bottle showing the processing plant numbers. So, milk is just milk. No difference between name brand and store brand. Nice to hear you might also be getting organic milk for the store brand price. 

[qa_maddy]

If my body can't tell the difference nutritionally I'll take my chances with the conventional foods. 

The mark ups seem to be baked right into the pricing for the certifications - USDA organic, Non-GMO, what have you. I was honestly shocked when I realized what an incredible cash grab the non-gmo project was. 

 

I see generally very little benefit to it other than the fact that they know their bottom line is higher so they can maybe give you a "higher quality" product. 

I worked at a fresh cut produce plant. It all goes through the same water. It all gets washed on the same equipment. It all has the same sanitizer used on it. It all has the same risk of L. Monocytogenes. 

 

Are they a better shopping experience? Sometimes. 

At the end of the day I'm buying the groceries that make sense for me and my spouse. 

[LostInTheWoods]

A family member used to work for a milk bottling plant which bottled name brand milk along side the cheaper store brand milk. The only difference was the label slapped on the jug. They even showed me the codes printed on each bottle showing the processing plant numbers. So, milk is just milk. No difference between name brand and store brand. Nice to hear you might also be getting organic milk for the store brand price. 

 

Yeah, I've used lot codes to prove to my wife that Walmart antacids come off of the same production line that Tums does. Lot numbers that followed the same numbering scheme (something like 10000006231 vs. 10000006226). And although the packaging was different, the lot number/expiration dates followed the same scheme, and were printed in the exact same font.

[GMO]

Yeah, I've used lot codes to prove to my wife that Walmart antacids come off of the same production line that Tums does. Lot numbers that followed the same numbering scheme (something like 10000006231 vs. 10000006226). And although the packaging was different, the lot number/expiration dates followed the same scheme, and were printed in the exact same font.

 

Depending on what product it is, sometimes there are production and recipe differences between one product and another for one customer or another but I do the same, look for similar packaging (or at least packaging which can run down the same line) and coding format / font etc.

[LostInTheWoods]

Depending on what product it is, sometimes there are production and recipe differences between one product and another for one customer or another but I do the same, look for similar packaging (or at least packaging which can run down the same line) and coding format / font etc.

Oh for sure! I expect to have different recipes/flavors. But when active ingredients and amounts are the same, its much easier to ask her, "Does the Tums brand taste $3 better than the Walmart brand?"