How does ALDI find the worst produce?

[Anonymous]

Obviously ALDI sources the cheapest leftover produce to sell cheap in its stores.

But how are they so reliable finding bad produce?

So many times I'll get avocados or cucumbers or something that will look fine on the outside but are rotten on the inside.

Is it because they buy the produce that didn't fit in the refrigerators, or has has been sitting around unnsold, maybe sent back from a different retailer?
Do they purchase batches that were sampled and tested and had had a high proportion of quality's rejects?

[Anonymous]

I haven’t really had an issue with the produce so long as I check carefully.

Maybe you’re buying stuff that is bruised?

[Anonymous]

Haven't had this issue either. I do a vinegar/water soak on the berries and they last just as long as the ones from other stores. Cucumbers have been fine. Which Aldi?

[Anonymous]

We bought fruit our first few visits there but it never lasted more than a day. I did notice the brand was the same for some raspberries as I got at Costco. I’m guessing farms/suppliers have different grades of food. Costco gets too tier, major grocery stores next tier, Aldi’s bottom tier. It’s the summer, bruised, older, not ripe, etc. You get what you pay for.

[Anonymous]

Haven't had this issue and buy plenty of produce at Aldi. Are you sure you are picking good avocado? Buy them unripe, never buy ripe unless you plan to use that day. Place in fridge if they are about ripe.

[Anonymous]

I haven't had this experience, except rarely. For the most part, I've found Aldi's produce to be better and last longer than most grocery stores.

Are you checking dates? Looking all around and underneath your berries?

[Anonymous]

I’ve had this happen at Aldi‘s but I have also had it happen at conventional grocery stores. In general, Aldi’s produce lasts as well as any other place’s. They do tend to do things like sell bags of very small apples, which were obviously rejected from mainstream grocery stores — but to me that’s a plus, as I prefer smaller apples! Same with extremely skinny asparagus.

[Anonymous]

Have you been to Costco? The same thing happens there too. I bought a watermelon from Costco that was rotten on the inside. I've also bought the 6 pack of Avocados and 5 out of 6 of them are black on the inside - so gross. Obviously, it's not always like that but my point is that it can happen from any grocery store.

Go to the Korean grocery stores (Lotte, H Mart, Grand Mart) for produce. They usually have better quality, lower priced fruits and vegetables.

[Anonymous]

I skip the ALDI produce section completely, sadly. We do have a local ethnic place (it's more hispanic and mixed than just korean) and I still have to be careful. Bags of onions and potatoes are great. Bananas are fine. I bought a huge bag of carrots and some were started to get all slime. So I had to open and rinse and store in a veg drawer with paper towels until I used them slowly! I do best with berries from Wegmans.

[Anonymous]

I think Aldi varies by store. I like Rockville but will never go back to Gaithersburg.

[Anonymous]

Not had this problem either.

[Anonymous]

I'm an Aldis fan but in general, you buy produce at Aldis that you mean to use today or tomorrow. It's not a store for weekly shopping trip to stock up.

[Anonymous]

I always have good luck with their berries and the big container of organic salad greens but agree that bananas/avocados are worse quality than other places

[Anonymous]

They send out staff every night before Giants and Safeways close. They wait by the dumpster and pickup veggies that you buy next day.

[Anonymous]

This is not my experience. I recently had the best peaches from there.