Supermarket etiquette is subject to fierce debate in the UK, and a new TikTok video about shopping in the fruit and veg section has caused a stir.
Commenters were outraged at a woman’s behaviour in a Woolworths in Australia, but some claimed they had seen similar goings on in their local Aldi.
The young mum, Tayler Stanley, from Queensland, spoke about what she witnessed in the supermarket while grocery shopping on the social media app.
Tayler said: ‘A lady walked over and she was standing in front of me at the blueberries and strawberries in Woolworths, and she opened up the blueberries and started touching them.
‘After she squeezed the blueberries, she put them back and did it to another two punnets, until she grabbed the one she wanted and walked away. Is that normal? Yuck.’
If you were lax about washing your fruit and veg, you probably won’t be now.
The video obviously sparked a heated debate about what is (and isn’t) acceptable when it comes to buying fruit and veg.
Tayler said: ‘Is this an ick or is it just me?’
Many people agreed in the comments that the woman’s behaviour was ‘not normal’.
Emma Gunn wrote: ‘Oh p**s off. I don’t want to buy blueberries again now.’
Another, Danielle Reid, said: ‘Yuuuuckkkk! I wash ours and this still makes me mad!’
One TikToker Melanie shared a similar story. She said: ‘I saw a lady doing this at Aldi the other day, pretty much taking the best strawberries from each one and filling one container with a few from each other container.’
Tayler replied, saying: ‘What the actual f**k is wrong with people? The audacity is beyond me. I just don’t understand.’
Another Tiktoker pointed out that incidents like this is why you always wash your produce and Tayler agreed, writing: ‘This is why I wash my veg and fruit vigorously, but to go as far as touching and squeezing the berries, like come on. It’s not normal right?’
However, there were some who admitted to doing this when they do their weekly shop.
Christopher Wakefiel said: ‘I always feel my fruit and veg. Some things are soft and starting to go off and others can be hard and able to eat for days so always check for fruit I can eat on the day. That means I need to touch.’
Tayler said: ‘Yes me too, did it to my avocados yesterday. I don’t eat the skin off my avocado though. I get it, but do you touch/squeeze blueberries before you buy? Is this normal?’
Christopher replied: ‘I no longer buy the strawberries or blueberries the last two lots we got were mouldy, so I understand why she’s done it.’
Offering her solution, Tayler added: ‘I will pick up the punnet and try to move them to see, maybe even open and have a look at the bottom etc but never would I touch them.’
So, squeezing fruit and veg with your bare hands is clearly seen as a big no no in the world of supermarkets, but there are other unspoken rules that shoppers stick too as well.
Allowing a customer with only a couple of items in front of you in the queue, when you’ve got a big weekly shop to scan, is considered ‘good manners’.
Those who shop at Tesco, Aldi, Lidl and the likes know all too well the pain of waiting in line at the till with just a handful of items, meanwhile the person in front of you has a full trolley.
Veronica Henry told Metro.co.uk that she always does it: ‘Any fewer than five items and I let them nip in,’ she said. ‘People are often surprised and always grateful.’
Although others disagreed. Dana Bridges said she didn’t like it when people asked: ‘People shouldn’t ask if they can go in front they should wait to be offered.’
Another unspoken rule that leaves shoppers fuming on the regular is bag packing etiquette.
Taking to the Hemel Online Facebook group, a user named Paul Allan explained the rule, claiming that if someone is in the packing area of the supermarket checkout, then the next shopper has to remain by their food on the conveyor belt.
He continued: ‘You can’t come and wait by the card machine, as I’m going to need to come back to that area once everything is scanned. Just back off.
‘And facing/staring directly at me will not make me pack any quicker.’
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