Outrage over rotten fruits, vegetables in Bahrain supermarkets

TDT | Manama                                                 

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com    

Reported by Julia Cassano

Over recent weeks, shoppers have revealed that when picking out items for their weekly shops, they are met with rotten fruits and vegetables. And when buying their fresh produce, they claim that the product turns mouldy within a couple of days, which is not a usual occurrence.

Also, supermarket goers have complained to The Daily Tribune about the price increases for fresh produce, especially items like bananas. One shopper said that he had paid over BD1 for a couple of bananas.

They said that they have noticed big supermarket chains in Bahrain “selling rotten fruit”, which led them to lodge complaints with the manager. Furthermore, the shoppers disclosed that when buying certain products like strawberries, they appear mouldy much more quickly than usual.

“When I raised concerns over the sale of rotten fruit in the store, the manager explained that it was the junior staff’s fault and then removed the expired fruit from the aisle,” the shoppers said.

Despite the grave concerns about the rotten fruit, the shoppers revealed that the next week, when they went back to their usual supermarket, they noticed more rotten fruit in the aisle, regardless of being told that the issue had been solved.

“Supermarkets are known to buy such rotting produce at a cheaper rate, allowing them to attain a good profit margin,” the shoppers said. Speaking to The Daily Tribune, Andrea Pucciarelli, manager of Roots and Shoots Organic Farm, said that there could be a variety of factors as to why mouldy fruits and vegetables are being sold in supermarkets, as well as why fresh produce may not be lasting a sustainable amount of time.

“Many times, produce is flown in from colder countries, and when imported into the Kingdom, they are met with warmer temperatures, which could affect the period they remain good for,” Andrea said.

She said that if the product is left outside when shipped to Bahrain, and if they are left for even 20 minutes in the scorching heat, this could cause the items to expire or rot quicker. She suggested this as a possible reason why shoppers may be experiencing a bad bulk of fruits and vegetables.

The local farm manager pointed out the differences in supermarket produce compared to locally grown products, saying: “A product coming from across the world like Jordan or Egypt is going to be harvested less ripe and will then spend a minimum of 12 hours travelling from the farm to the grocery store.”

She said that this causes a lot of products to be ripened by gas, instead of on the vine. Ethylene gas is the most commonly used gas in this process. Another effect of this is that the gas is non-toxic to humans and safe for adult humans, however, using the gas means that the fruit does not contain the same nutritional benefits that it would have when ripening on the plant.

She noted that local produce from Roots and Shoots Farm is harvested in the early morning and delivered straight to your house in a maximum of two hours.

“The benefit of this to our customers is that they will receive local produce that is harvested directly from the ground in Bahrain, which ensures a higher quality of the food that is more nutritious.”

Eating locally means you’re eating in season, it is an investment in your community, and it benefits the environment.