I love a bargain just as much as the next person. But for me personally, there is a limit to how far I'd go. Especially when it comes to food. When something is cheap and seems too good to be true, it makes you think there is a reason for it. Like maybe it's a bit aged or for some other reason it went unwanted.
Any examples? For the most part, suuuper cheap food is usually when it's older and the food has a quick expiration, like breads, donuts, etc. It also depends on where you're buying stuff. I would be suspicious if there was super cheap food at a restaurant, but I probably wouldn't blink twice if it was from a food stand. Doubly so if I'm travelling in another country. While some stuff that's being cooked probably isn't the, uh, "cleanest," hundreds of people eat it everyday so if it looks really good, then I'll get it anyways. I hopefully won't die some day because of my cravings...
I think it depends on what kind of food it is that you are buying. Canned foods or dry foods should be pretty okay. On the other hand, anything perishable or obtained from less clean sources (e.g. shellfish) should be avoided when suspiciously cheap.
I like shopping for bargains and love it when I find reduced items. But that mainly goes for cleaning materials and toiletries. I'm very particular about what I put in my mouth, though. If it's perishable, I go for the best quality or do without if I can't afford it. Canned stuff I don't mind being cheap; but I go off taste in this case, no necessarily price.
I wouldn't say I'm weary, but I can be cautious. If a can is dented, for instance. Or perhaps I'm not that interested in dollar store turkey discounted to fifty cents because it aged more than it aged to end up in the dollar store. So, cautious would be the word. Every good deal is not always the best deal in retrospect.
I am also very skeptical when it comes to cheap food and unless I know where the food is really coming from or if I know how they are able to get the price so low, then I mostly just stay away. It's why I'm trying more and more to just cook at home nowadays since I like knowing that my food is being made clean and with fresh ingredients, even if it takes a lot more effort to do it.
I like super cheap food [at times]. For example, here, farmers around here grow lots of tomatoes when the season is right, that is. The low quality tomatoes always end up being sold in farmers markets. They are very cheap. At times when they aren't that bad, I'll buy them but if they aren't then quite obviously I'll opt to spend a little more and get better tomatoes from the Ma and Pa grocery shops.
We've been overcharged for food for years and Aldi and Lidl have proved this and forced the other retailers to match prices or lower them. The only way to test for quality is to try it, a label and price doesn't mean it's good and a lower price and plain packaging doesn't mean it isn't. There is a program here in the UK where they take the labels off all the food and get the family to eat it and then at the end they reveal and then they choose to swap or not. They tricked them with some chicken fillets marinated from Waitrose (upmarket store) and they thought the program had replaced it with generic own brand. They kept saying on the show, their normal one was better only to discover it was actually the same with no label. They ended up swapping many items for cheaper ones that tasted as good if not better.
This happened to me. I was shopping for a grocery when I chanced upon a meat that is being sold way cheaper than its usual price. I then grabbed 2 packs thinking that I got a good bargain. When I reached home, I put it in the refrigerator right away. It was only two days after that I discovered that the meat has expired on the same day that I bought it. I was tempted to cook it since it has only been daysthat the meat has expired. But then I could not sacrifice my family's health and I ended up throwing it in the trash. Now, I've become weary and cautious whenever I see food stuff being sold cheap.
Always weary when anything is too cheap. If I'm buying cheap food, I try to buy it as close to the way it occurs naturally as possible, that way I know its been through fewer processes (since its during processing that manufacturers will have to consider costs). I also know that there are fewer additives at that stage. So it can be done, just try not buying it if its in a packet
Agree with this policy as well. To me, I won't skimp out on buying super cheap perishable items as there's likely a good reason for it being so cheap (like being old). Recently, saw eggs that had all been marked down 25%. Turns out, each carton had at least one or two broken eggs and was coming close to the expiration date on the side. For canned foods and breads and things of that nature, I'll get it the cheapest version if I don't mind how it tastes.
My philosophy is to always stick with what you know. If you have experience with the particular product or even the brand then most likely you are safe. If you're trying out something new however use your instinct and also maybe check expiration dates but I know you can't rely on the dates as much.
Sometimes, although especially with dairy and meat products. If a pack of biscuits is cheap then I will just assume it is a bit dry or tasteless, but with dairy products I often think that it may have a shorter shelf life than I'm used to which would end up making me sick.
I will accept anything that comes from a supermarket, because I know that there are a lot of guidelines that need to be met before the foods can be sold there. I know that many branded products make huge amounts of profit and cost very little to make, and things like canned food cost a fraction of the price that they're sold for to actually produce in the first place. So I will accept buying things like canned vegetables for a low price, as I know that the quality is still really good. There are other things, like pasta and rice, that I will also happily spend very little money on. A lot of the time, people cannot actually tell the difference between the higher costing food and the lower costing ones, so many of us are spending money that simply doesn't need to be spent.
I have not actually thought of this. I usually buy my goods on the supermarket and did not have the time to scout around better deals when it comes to food. Anyway, when it is super cheap, I have to be wary of buying canned goods. Check the expiry date and if the can has bulges. If there is, drop it and walk away. These cans might have been improperly canned and Clostridum botulinum might be present, the toxins of this is one of the most poisonous things known to man.
When in doubt, you can always check the back of the can or the food you intend to buy to see if the grocery store's duping you or if the "too good to be true" promo is simply an attempt to win the hearts of customers. It's normal for supermarkets to offer good deals. It is all part of a grand marketing strategy. Not all supermarkets are negligent enough to sell their customers expired food.
Food that is quite cheap these days are usually junk food that people prefer rarely. Most of the vegetables and fruits are quite costly. Very rarely it so happens that the food is quite cheap because they grow only in those season.
