Supermarket Fresh fruit and vegetables going off quicker?

Yes! I bought strawberries and raspberries the other week - my grandson loves them - and yet although they were still well in day, they had white mould on them within a day or two.

I’ve thought this for months! Mushrooms have been soggy and horrible for ages. Got some from Ocado on Tuesday, binned the lot the next day. Meat is going off and stinking way before expiry date. I’ve thrown so much away. I’m going to live on frozen and tinned food I think. Has COVID affected every living thing? I’m getting concerned and paranoid.

Yes I agree with you JaneJudge
I have noticed this with vegetables particularly ( I’m vegetarian)
Carrots I bought from Aldi were mouldy and beginning to rot at the ends in a week. I had taken them out of the plastic wrapping hoping to prolong their life, but I’m afraid I had to put the lot in the compost bin!
Broccoli which I bought from Sainsbury’s went brown in 3 days and don’t get me started on potatoes! Terribly wasteful.

I’m now asking my friends with allotments if they would be willing to barter as I’m becoming desperate!

We've started going to a fruit and veg market in the street in our local town. The produce is very cheap (most things are £1. I was a bit dubious but it's great. 'Proper' potatoes, with dirt still on them, quite a big bag. Two large punnets of strawberries £1, same for raspberries. I was surprised that it all lasted nearly two weeks, the potatoes a bit longer.

Not seen this problem, I’m buying local strawberries, don’t last long as I eat them, buy 3kg potatoes from the same farm shop, they last a couple of weeks. Tesco veg, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli and cauli lasting over a week, blueberries the same, by then eaten anyway

Grapes are awful at the moment. Brown whilst on the supermarket shelves.

We are also vegetarian and agree fruit and veg from supermarkets don’t seem to last long, especially notice soggy ends on carrots and potatoes sprouting for a pastime. Have started buying from our small local shop where they buy the veg from local farmers and although it might cost a few pence more, it doesn’t end up in the compost bin. It is also not packed in plastic.

Honeysickleberries, I've had meat go off too and mince brown whilst well within date.

Yes I have noticed this too.

Also noticed that the plants and flowers in my local Morrisons are in much worse condition on the shelves.

I stopped buying fruit and veg from Morrisons because it was so poor. Also the sell by dates were terrible on a lot of their fresh produce, with only a day or two left on them.

Galaxy

Grapes are awful at the moment. Brown whilst on the supermarket shelves.

Totally agree. I've been having home deliveries, and for the last few weeks, although the grapes have arrived looking OK, they have been turning brown within a day!

I've found that potatoes can go off within a few days and have a foul smelling liquid dripping from them.

We started to get them from the local farm shop and they are better probably because they haven't been washed and then packed in plastic.

I bought a bunch of carrots from the farm shop with fresh green tops but they looked a bit worse for wear next day!

I'm reverting to few and loose when I buy fruit & veg nowadays. Packs were not staying fresh enough to marry my consumption.

Yes.
I thought it was because I was having groceries delivered but the other week I went int M&S posh of all places, bought the more expensive satsumas posher because the ones on offer looked under-ripe.

Three developed mould within a couple of days.
It has happened with fruit from several places.

The potatoes were awful and they haven't travelled far.

The potatoes were awful
They were from Tesco.

I thought it was only me noticing this. Oranges rotting within a few dyas of being bought, they used to last weeks and dry out not rot!

I buy most of my fruit and veg from a market stall and it is little better - especially grapes.

No problem with potatoes though, they may sprout, but i can just knock these off.

I've just opened a bag of Jersey Royals which came with our Tesco delivery yesterday. They are absolutely awful. I've had to throw some away.

I agree as well. I used to be able to shop once a week but now I have to go at least twice to ensure I have fresh vegetables. I find pre-packed tomatoes go soft very quickly.

Pre-packed tomatoes are awful - they're never really properly ripe either. I've had to throw out some carrots today (which I hate doing) because they'd gone from being fine to rotten and dripping within a couple of days.

this is strange. not fruit & veg, cheese. just today, so glad i noticed it, rather than using it in evening gloom. bag of grated cheddar, from lidl, unopened. date 2 weeks ahead. visible green moldy bits seen through the clear packet.
never happened before.
i wonder if shops are storing things differently, or using v old stock taken out of deep freezer ??

I’ve found this for a while now. Carrots were the worst offender. These days I remove all the plastic packaging and keep root veg except for potatoes in the fridge.

I’ve been meaning to shop at the local indoor market for ages now so maybe this is the week to start.

I'm on holiday in Cornwall and had a shopping delivery on Friday with bananas for the GC to have at the beach. I had to throw them all away.

I think they freeze them badly or leave them too long to defrost. I’ve noticed in Morrisons a lot of the pre packaged fruit and vegetables are wet with condensation inside the packaging.

Carrots!

I thought it was just me.
Those sold in plastic bags on the shelves are already wet & rot down within a day or so. Organic no better & I have tried Waitrose, Sainsbury’s & Tesco - all the same. M&S slightly better condition on the shelf so last longer.

I have taken to buying loose carrots in the supermarket, picking over the bin for any not already wet at the ends & using the brown paper bags for mushrooms to get them home.

The other week the loose carrot bin in Waitrose was full of slime. I told the assistant who checked the bin, he promptly pulled the whole bag out of the bin, apologised profusely & opened up the fresh bag underneath. They were already wet.

What is going on?