When we're hungry and our tummies are aching for food, we don't think about the interworking of the kitchen or slaughterhouses. Unfortunately, it becomes an afterthought or we choose not to go there entirely.
Sometimes a shocking headline or one person's nudge, however, prompts us to go into these uncomfortable yet essential waters. So when u/Miserable_Papaya1814 recently asked the Ask Reddit community "What dark facts do you know about the food industry?", insider secrets spilled like Kevin's famous chili from The Office. To provide you with a comprehensive overview of what goes on behind closed doors in the food industry, we have curated a list of the most intriguing responses down below.
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#21
Over the years, the sugar content of our grocery items are increasing so people will buy more.
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26points
#22
You'd never want to eat at a restaurant again once you saw how much of your $70 meal for two came frozen and pre-prepared in plastic bags.
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23points
However, since then, Walmart seemed to step up its game. and introduced some initiatives to fight the food waste epidemic (at least on paper, that is). "When food goes unsold, Walmart works to get it to people and places that need it while it remains nutritious. In 2023, we donated more than 665 million pounds of food in the U.S. alone," the grocery mega-giant boasted in June.
#23
Chocolate can have up to 60 insect parts per 100g and still be approved as safe for consumption by the FDA in the US.
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22points
#24
Worked in the food industry for a couple years, all I can think of is how gross arbys roast beef looks in its bag before it’s cooked, just google it, hasn’t changed in 30 years.
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20points
#25
Worked in a pepperoni factory 20+ years ago as an accountant. Found that the more MSP in the bill of materials, the lower quality and cheaper the product. Looking at the stuff, it looked kind of like an old square crumbly eraser if you remember those.
So I asked what MSP was. It's "mechanically separated pork". When I asked what that means, they told me that after all the good meat is cut off of a pig, a power washer is used to blast the remaining flesh off the carcass. That's scooped up, dried out and packaged as MSP.
Enjoy your next cheap pepperoni pizza.
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20points
#26
Former chef here.
Never send send food back unless of course the chicken is still raw sorta problem
Never send send food back unless of course the chicken is still raw sorta problem
The daily specials are fridge clean outs.
Don't order fish on a Tuesday unless the establishment is a seafood restaurant
Last but not least try not to alter the menu and food to suit your taste. Chefs and owners work hard to create menus and recipes and get very upset when you ask for no ham in the chicken cordon bleu.
17points
#27
Don't eat at Unos. I worked BOH in salad and soup prep. I saw tons of trays of veggies accidentally dropped on the floor, walked over and picked back up with nary a rinse. The chili stays in the pot for days on end and they just add more water and beans. I saw unsavory things working at Friendly's too.
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17points
#28
Your green salad lettuce has been floating in a trash-can sized bucket containing a mixture of water and some chemical that keeps it crisp.
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16points
#29
Escargot. Ugh. Be wary.
Those exotic looking shells are reused many times. After being sent through the dishwasher, sometimes extra care is taken to make sure the soap hasn’t settled inside the shell.
The snail meat itself comes from a can and is stuffed into the shells.
15points
#30
The turkey in your Sunday turkey dinner at restaurant was likely cooked the night before. It sat out overnight cooling in the utility room. Maybe the automatic insect spray in the utility room dusted the turkey a few times during the night.
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12points