Those of you who want to relive the fictionalized tale of The Scarlet Letter but want to brand people with J's instead of A's really should find more polite and productive things to do with your time.

You just judged people also, for writing their opinion, isn't that a bit hypocritical?

Personal appearance aside, the woman's behavior was odd. Perhaps mentally ill? I would have probably skipped the produce that day, understanding however, that those same apples would be there tomorrow. So just a knee/jerk reaction, that would last one day.

I once "offended" a deli counter worker. I go to a very nice deli, which also has fresh sea food and meats. I was ordering ground beef, which is made the way we like it.

"Tony" was telling the previous customer how sick he was the past few weeks as he was putting together my order. I already had shrimp from the other side of the store, but when he came around with my chop meat, I declined. I told him that I was going on vacation and couldn't afford to get sick. He was miffed, but he took it back. I bought my shrimp and left.

Sorry, maybe he was perfectly fine to be working there that day, but just the description of his lingering illness turned my stomach.

Superblues, KT is a place to share everything, but understand though that people will be sensitive about issues of appearance and weight. Why you felt you needed to put that in your description can be a whole other thread!

I would have bought fruit and vegetables after examining them for ripeness or bruising. This woman was probably one of a hundred people who had handled these foods before purchase. I have no illusions that fruit and veg are grown or handled in highly sanitary conditions by thin, attractive, well-groomed people.

I see nothing wrong with your post, either, sleeper. I'd have been grossed out, too. I'd also not have been happy to see a slim, clean person doing it. But no, I guess I wouldn't have said anything to the store personnel.

One time, I saw a lady sneaking chicken wings from the hot food case and depositing the chewed up bones back in other hot food. It was so gross. When I admonished her, she took off. I let management know to remove the food. Some people are so gross. There was a trashcan right there which made it more unbelievable.

However, fruits and vegetables are touched by tons of people...some people who picked their nose, or used the bathroom without washing their hands or whatever so it is just best to assume that it all must be washed.

Just remember, cleo07: those people who pick their nose or use the bathroom without washing their hands also touch canned food, yet nobody cleans them off before opening them. I work retail and see it all too often.

My mother (I'm 76) always washed the lids of her canned food before opening and I always have too. Never thought about it, just a habit I've always had.

I wouldn't have said anything, but then I always wash produce thoroughly. What does bother me is kids opening the grocery store pastry display cases and touching the pastries and then running off. Have seen that several times and would never buy pastries from there.

I also would not buy unwrapped bread. because, like Hounds wrote above, I have seen too many people pick the bread up, squeeze, it, smell it, and put it back. I've also observed them stick their fingers into the open baguette bags and squeeze/touch the tops.

My first thought was that the lady had dropped her cellphone down in the box of cukes and was looking for it. But that doesn't explain why she handled the mangoes, too.

Maybe she was participating in a scavenger hunt and someone with a weird sense of humor had hidden something in there.

Or even more sinister, it was a drug drop spot. Ok, now I'M getting weird.

Without the physical description, we might not have understood why THIS individual appeared 'beyond unkempt' -- which is part of what made you cringe.

This is what this person looks like. It's part of why you noticed her. It's not 'normal' to weigh 400 lbs., be dirty and covered with cat hair. It's all part of painting the picture even *before* we hear about her compulsive produce sorting.

We can be overly PC. If the 'male' wanted for questioning is only described as 'dark complected' -- because it's not PC to identify him as a BLACK male -- how does that help? It IS what it IS. Would you fail to describe your lost pet in full detail? Reality doesn't change just because a negative is involved.

I don't know what store management could do if this person's actions were reported. I do recall "No shirt, no shoes, no service," but now I see goofy women with their captive purse-dogs in grocery stores. (NOT 'service dogs'.)

"You just judged people also, for writing their opinion, isn't that a bit hypocritical?"

I don't think so. My comment was intentional hyperbole. The comments I referred to as slinging J's, just as you did, weren't giving an opinion quite so much as criticizing someone else for having one.

I'm one of those annoying people who checks under the avocado stem for ripeness. Works every time and I haven't paid for a brown one since I learned that trick. Intend to keep doing it. Lol. Has saved me a bundle in buying avocados when I used to throw half away.

That would really tick me off if I saw a bunch of avocados with their stems removed. I think you're selfish.

←←←:-( grabs the popcorn and sits back to watch the show. LOL

I think when we're out shopping we just have to assume that pretty much everything is dirty because people are disgusting. Whether we see the disgusting behavior or not, the merchandise has been handled by many people before we, as shoppers, ever decide to add the items to our carts.

I have seen stuff that curls my toes both in stores and in restaurants. My rule of thumb is to report it if something can be done about it, like removing food that contains chewed up chicken bones, but someone handling produce probably isn't a reportable offense.

Yeah but this description is obviously not the same as someone wanted for questioning or a lost pet. In those instances, physical description matters and is crucially important for identification. For someone rummaging through the produce, why does her physical description matter?

The problem with these kinds of unnecessary descriptions is that it implies that overweight people or people with fur on their clothes or greasy hair or any combination of the three are gross and deserving of ridicule. Personally I own 4 cats so there is always fur on my clothes, and I don't consider myself to be gross.

Well, I'm one of those people that touches many pieces of fruit or vegetables when buying. I don't actually squeeze them, but a light touch can usually determine degree of ripeness. And yes, there are some that I will actually pick up to examine. I don't see a thing wrong with it, I expect most people do exactly that. In fact, I am usually quite surprised when someone just grabs a few apples, cukes, whatever, without ever really looking at them. Seems like it's usually some young slender thing that does that, so I figure they just don't know how to chose their produce. I'm definitely not young or slender, but I'm not grossly overweight, either. Hopefully I don't gross anyone out.

So no, I would not have said a thing, either to the woman or to a manager. And I always wash my produce very well before I use it. And yes, I also clean the tops of cans before opening. Always have, always will. Who knows how many mice have left their liquid trademark on them while they were stored somewhere.

Rusty

There is not one of you who would have seen this woman and not given it a thought. Judgements are made by each of us every single day. Don't extrapolate my description of THIS SITUATION to you. I could not care less if you have cat hair coming out of your ears and you need to lose weight. I'm no Victoria secrets model, and I touch and squeeze produce like any sane person. (I do not damage it and put it back, however). This was beyond the scope of normal, and I did what it seems most of you would do--I said nothing.

I can only speak for myself.......but I wouldn't have given it much thought. I am used to seeing all types of people in pubic.

One can pretty much assume that anyone who is grossly obese and unkept to that extent does suffer from mental illness to some degree. Usually, it's severe and untreated depression but physical conditions beyond their control can also be contributors. Some people turn to drugs and/or alchohol to sooth their pain, others turn to food; but all three problems tend to stem from the same common denominator, that being depression.

So my question(s) are and I've wondered this for a long time:

Why is it when someone is an alcholic or drug addict, society tends to react with empathy and/or concern but when someone is over weight, it's viewed as "their fault, their problem"? There are FREE support systems in place for drinking or drugs; programs like AA, religious support groups and even rehab from the government in some states. However when someone has an addiction to food, people tend to assume it's their fault or that it's an easy fix; that if they so desired they could just loose the weight. We all know how hard it is for drug and drinking addicts to stop, why would a food addiction be any different? And just like drinking and drugs kill, so does obesity so the risks are just as high.

What's really sad to me at least, is that society tends to treat people like that as if they are 2nd class citizens, which in turn just feeds the depression and makes it even worse for them.

Why is it that people expect everyone to be PC when speaking about someone's color, race, sexual preference or gender, but not their physique?

Edited to adjust my wording.

I would not have bought the cucumbers or the mangoes.I'm not going to judge the lady but I have a choice in what I buy. Would I have reported her - no.

I buy avocados by feel and have yet to buy one that I have had to throw out. Most of the stems get removed either by shoppers or just in transit.

I think it is because there are always people who feel the need to ridicule or demean others. Perhaps trying to make others seem inferior somehow bolsters their own shaky self-esteem. It is now a hate crime to make racist remarks, attack religious groups and so on. Who else is left? Fat people. And there is always the fake concern to hide behind, that they are worried about someone's health.

That kinda disgusted me reading it. I hope it wasn't MY Aldi's. I saw an older woman going thru boxes of strawberries and removing ones and placing the ones she wanted in the box. The only thing I man handle are avocados which I love but only if they are firm: when they soften, yuck.

I don't feel obligated to pay for produce I then have to throw out because it's overripe or whatever. Nothing wrong with gently handling fruit and produce to ensure it's fresh. Nothing selfish about it!

if stores don't want us to check they should be more diligent about weeding out crappy stuff. It's too expensive to take risks.

As someone pointed out, none of us knows how fruits and vegetables are handled before we see them in a store. The woman described by the OP could leave the store and newly arrived customers would not have an inkling about what transpired just a few minutes previously. They see what appears to be an attractive display of good quality fruits and vegetables. The moral of the story, as others have said, wash any produce that you purchase, because you don't know its history.

I reported to a store clerk once when I saw a woman weighing a package of raw chicken on a scale to be used for fruits/vegetables. Very unsanitary.

We were at a buffet once and one of the customers was tasting each dish with the serving spoons. You can bet that I reported that!

As a rule, I try to avoid buffets because of stuff like this.

Wow! They have *stems*? (There are no avocado trees within hundreds of miles of Chicago. LOL)

I'm still OK with reading exactly what someone *saw*, including the description of the 'produce sorter' in this instance.

Wanna hear about the very muscular man in cycling gear who rides relentlessly all over my town on his own? I'm of the opinion that he may be self-treating depression. I know exercise helps depression, and I've known a psychiatrist who does this to help his own depression. This man fits *the description*.

Descriptions are useful. You don't 'not see' a 400 pound woman or the intense expression on this cyclist. Their appearance is *relevant*. Nobody is pointing and rolling her eyes.

Dawn -- Oh, boy. Restaurants might need to station an employee to monitor a buffet or salad bar. (Although most of us don't want to know what goes on in the kitchen!)

Not one of us who saw her that wouldn't have judged her. Hm. That may be, but I'm betting not everyone would judge in the SAME way. I, for one, would've likely skipped her physical appearance or avoided the estimation of her mental status. Often, when i see someone like that, my mind drifts to opportunities they may or may not have. Feel free to assume, just realize, you could be totally off base.

You have to be careful buying the bottles of spices. DH seen someone opening a bottle of spice, shaking it out and then placing the bottle back on the shelf. He's not sure why this was done. I remember buying a bottle of hair spray and when I went to use it, it was mostly water. Boy was I PO'ed. Now I just buy spray cans. I think we just have to be careful no matter what we buy. I love the bottles that are taped up.

"I've always been warned about lettuce because the workers occasionally urinate on it. When you gotta go, you gotta go."

I lived for 31 years in Monterey County, CA, where 56% of the head lettuce and 61% of leaf lettuce for the nation is grown. Ag workers are provided porta-pottys in the fields. I find the suggestion that you make to be very uninformed.

I will say, however, that ag fields and open lands are adjacent in most areas, and wildlife, from birds to bears to wild boars, will visit or just transit thru ag lands.

Hopefully the porta pottys have adequate hand washing facilities with soap and lots of running water. And the workers use it properly washing for at least 20 seconds. Otherwise all those germs get transferred to the produce anyway.

Most people don't wash their hands properly. Just another reason to wash all produce!

Yes, there are hand-washing stations.

My grandmother -- a fanatic about saving water -- would scrub baking potatoes less than thoroughly and say, "Never mind. You have to eat a peck of dirt before you die."

I remember when Mom and step-father took a trip to California 10 years ago. They both commented on fields of produce as far as the eye could see and not a potty in sight.

A lot of porta potties now have a hand-wash station installed as part of the unit.

Sleeper, when I see someone like that I just think Gross!

I'm not too far from Monterey County and pass through there often. But as I think about there and also the vast fruit and veggie farms in the Central Valley, my recollection is that the presence of portapotties is a fairly "recent" amenity for farm workers. Recent, as sometime in the past decade or two. Maybe as a result of activism on the part of the UFW? I could be wrong. I'll defer to sushipup who was closer to the real action than I am.

Farm workers hands aren't clean and the reason isn't just because of bathroom activities. Produce is grown on and in dirt and are sprayed with chemicals of all kinds, that's where the action is. Veggies eaten raw should be washed reasonably well. Chisue, your grandmother's habit didn't threaten anyone, the heat from cooking more than kills pathogens.

I got grossed out watching the fictional TV show about migrant workers, American Crime. Supposedly very true to life and it ain't pretty

Sometimes the pesticides and herbicides are applied by plane ... and I'm not sure that the fliers are always careful about not flying over fields inhabited by workers.

If you send those workers back to Mexico, do you think that many of
those fields will shut down ... as how many even financially pushed U.S.
folks may be willing to work in them?

o j

If there are no workers active in the fields, you won't see porta-potties. These are not permanent installations, but units that are towed into place. As the workers move down the rows, the facilities are moved with them.

I found this article from 2006, looks like 1992.

I consider all raw food filthy. That's what scrub brushes, soap and proper cooking are for. My friend saw a tv show about the chicken industry. She declared she would never eat chicken again because the meat's so dirty. I asked if she cooked her chicken. Yes, she did. So then what's the problem?

Kessala

Canada may not have the same worker health and safety rules we have in the US but you can be sure fields aren't sprayed when workers are present. I remember seeing newspaper stories about potential risks to working in the fields too soon after spraying is done, though.

I suspect Canada doesn't have the same shortage of farm-hand labor that for decades has caused a northern flow of Mexicans and Central Americans to the US, since the Canadian climate in so much of the country offers such a short growing season and is otherwise inhospitable to growing the kinds of fruits and vegetables we grow here that can't be machine harvested.

Thanks for the info, sushipup. Sounds like Cal OSHA and OSHA have been on the scene. Unfortunately, the 90s are more "recent" in my adult life than the 60s, 70s or 80s. I remember the E coli problem with spinach and I thought the source was ultimately traced to feral pigs?

Yes, I think those fields were somewhere between Hollister and San Juan Bautista, where the hills abut the fields.

In CA I believe it is the law to provide porta potties even if it is a small area like my neighbor's 3 acre vineyard. He always has them when he has workers doing things like pruning or picking the grapes. That is fairly recent because 31 years ago when we moved here the owners didn't provide them.

The law dates to 1992.

Had to reply to Elmer...Canada has a robust fruit production system. We are not all in the frozen north. Lol. BC, where I'm from grows all sorts of berries, apples, apricots, cherries, peaches and more! There indeed can be labour shortages during peak harvest times. There are many Mexican and Central American immigrants here too along with many Middle Eastern folks and people from India working in the fields under sometimes difficult conditions. We're not CA in terms of production but we grow a lot here in the Great White North. Lol

I think it is the slick well groomed corporate execs in immaculately pressed suits who convince others to relax rules on pesticide content and so on in our produce, that are perhaps more to be worried about

Ding!

Back to OP original statement:

i would not say anything for a 2 reasons: 1.) unknown stability & that goes for ANYONE today, u just never know. she could pull out a gun or knife., u just never know today. 2.) not my job

Yes, I always wash all my produce every week!! use a fruit and veggie wash

Yes, i rinse all my lids on canned goods.

many good points here about the "start to finish" of our food supply!

What worries me is not the person who handles fruit of vegetables but all the hangups that are cultivated by advertising companies to sell their cleaning products.

You don't suppose this story ...

... might be scrubbed, do you?

o j

I touch a lot of produce because I've learned that anything juicy should feel heavy for its size, and you can't know without "weighing " it in your hand. The jerks who irk me are the ones who partially peel back the husk on corn on the cob, thereby ruining the corn for people like me who want to roast it. Like they can't stand the risk of having a few misshapen kernels? There's a certain place I'd like to stick those cobs that they've peeled.

Saying something to the store would be inappropriate. What can/should store employees do about it? People today want to molest produce so they make it available so people can indulge themselves. The only other option is to package the stuff so you can't pick and choose. I have said things to people before and might in this situation if I felt so inclined.

And of course, people start shouting "JUDGING!!!!" when someone expresses an opinion or when some detail is put into the telling of an incident. Yet they sit and judge in other posts all the time. Hypocritical people are in no shortage these days, that's for sure.

People want others to do everything for them. That's one of my big frustrations. Speak up. Do something for yourself, instead of expecting everyone else to do it for you. So often I hear these timid people who are using the excuse that someone is going to kill them if they say anything so they don't dare... Yeah, right. Go to the post about the kid being teased by other kids and one kid showing the guts to take a stand and do something about it. There's a lesson to be learned there. He shames so many people who need to be ashamed. I shake my head thinking how many would raise their kids (and presumably are raising them) to do nothing because they might pull a weapon and kill them! What sad lives people live to shelter themselves from the world being so scared of life. I can just envision the bars on their windows, barricaded doors and 10 year supply of canned tuna and toilet paper filling the shelves. And some suggest that it's the fat people who are sick or mentally disturbed. I think otherwise.