Crazy to think that we have been in a global pandemic for almost a full year.
It seems just like yesterday that many people were rushing to the grocery stores to buy food before the supply “ran out.” To be honest, my family bought so much food and we had no clue how to even cook it correctly. We even purchased a new deep freezer to preserve and store more food over the course of the pandemic.
Living in Detroit can make finding healthy and quality food selections more difficult. There are neighborhoods in the city that are labeled food deserts.
For many, that means driving 15-to-20 minutes away from home just to purchase fresh food. Much of the food that we did buy seemed to go bad if we either didn’t eat it right away or properly store it. I know the balance of trying to buy enough food for your family without getting so much that you can’t eat it in time, and this has become an even bigger concern for us during the pandemic. After buying some fresh fruit one day and noticing that it appeared past its prime ripeness by the following day, it made me wonder how much we know about the food we’re buying and its freshness. In fact, we aren’t alone in this sentiment. After surveying nearly 1,000 U.S. consumers on their perception and expectation of food safety process, global software and engineering company Emerson found that food quality and the technologies that keep food safe have become increasingly important to consumers.
Emerson’s survey also found that half of consumers (51%) worry about the safety of fresh, perishable, and frozen foods during their transportation to stores.
I plan to monitor the expiration dates of my food more closely on the next trip to the grocery. I’d also like to research and explore what technology the grocery stores in my area are using to ensure food quality, which will help me to reduce my family’s food waste. Special thank you to Emerson for shedding light and awareness on solutions to the concerns that everyday consumers (like me) really have as we want to protect our little ones.
