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Eating Sample Goodies At the Grocery


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I have been sampling whatever is offered for many years - more than I care to recall - and have had no ill effects ever. I have, however, found some items that I decided to buy based upon having tasted the sample. I have also decided against some fresh fruits for the same reason.

The most sick I've ever been in my life was after sampling at a local grocery store. I was out of commission for a week, and honestly thought I'd die. Never again!!! :wacko:

“"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully.

"It's the same thing," he said.”

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The most sick I've ever been in my life was after sampling at a local grocery store. I was out of commission for a week, and honestly thought I'd die. Never again!!! :wacko:

:sad: Do you remember what the culprit was?

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The most sick I've ever been in my life was after sampling at a local grocery store. I was out of commission for a week, and honestly thought I'd die. Never again!!! 

I can see how this could happen. Generally the people handling the food don't have any special food preparation experience. A knife that's been cutting raw meat for a few hours and hasn't been cleaned could easily get mixed up with the "clean" knife one is using to cut the cooked meat. Combine this with the fact that many of the people handing out food samples could give a damn about their job performance and it's a wonder that the walls of these stores aren't spackled with the vomit of food-sick customers - this is probably attributable to the incubation period of such illnesses; it's the customer's living room that gets sprayed with chunks of Freschetta four-cheese pizza and trail-mix.

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it's a wonder that the walls of these stores aren't spackled with the vomit of food-sick customers - this is probably attributable to the incubation period of such illnesses; it's the customer's living room that gets sprayed with chunks of Freschetta four-cheese pizza and trail-mix.

eeewwwwwww .... :blink:

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

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The stuff at Costco (and other supermarkets) always seems to be frozen junk, and not tempting at all.

But the Ontario government has opened a palatial new liquor store in central Toronto, and they often have people offering very good apps--I recall one involving lamb that was especially good.

In fact, I'd have to say these are the best samples I've tried anywhere.

Arthur Johnson, aka "fresco"
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This thread reminds me of a tour I took not so long ago at the Goose Island Brewry. The tour started at a set of taps with each of their beers. We were encouraged to try whichever one we wanted and could return to the taps at any time during the tour to try another. Needless to say some of the members of my group went back one (make that 2 or 3) times to many. :wacko:

Gosh I love free beer!!!! :biggrin::biggrin:

Flip

"Beer is proof God loves us, and wants us to be happy."

-Ben Franklin-

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The most sick I've ever been in my life was after sampling at a local grocery store. I was out of commission for a week, and honestly thought I'd die. Never again!!!  :wacko:

:sad: Do you remember what the culprit was?

It was a delicious Comte (gruyere) at a high end grocery store. There were toothpicks in a container on the side, but my guess is someone didn't use them...

“"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully.

"It's the same thing," he said.”

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There were toothpicks in a container on the side, but my guess is someone didn't use them...

that's another thing - It was my experience that many customers don't understand the sanitary justification for the toothpicks, they seem to think they are there in case they don't feel like picking the food up with their bare fingers. There were many times I would try to give a customer a toothpick and he or she would waive it off, saying, "I'll just use my hands," before grabbing the food and darting off. I should have put a sign that said, "Asshats, the toothpicks are not to protect your hands from the food, but to protect the food from your nasty germ encrusted hands"

-and if you think I was going to argue with idiots over using toothpicks for the princely sum of 5 or 6 dollars an hour - it just wasn't going to happen.

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There was a time when the Costco samples looked appetizing to me, and occasionally I'll still try something if it looks appealing, but when most of it is frozen crap that I wouldn't buy anyway, I can easily pass it by. Same goes for my supermarket. It seems that every time I go there, there's less real food and more processed, premade, pre-packaged junk.

Now if they were handing out samples of wine (like in those Canadian liquor stores), that would be a different story!

After hearing these horror stories, I don't think I'll be tasting anything any time soon (unless I'm at a place like Whole Foods, where they'll cut me a taste of a cheese I'm interested in).

"I just hate health food"--Julia Child

Jennifer Garner

buttercream pastries

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I saw a travel programme a few months ago, the theme is one guy does a place on the cheap, and there is a woman who spends a lot.

Anyway, this week they were visiting London, one of the guys suggestion was to have a wander round Borough market and just eat all the freebies!

Not a bad suggestion, but I would at least buy something!

I love animals.

They are delicious.

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We give samples of wine in our winery, of course, but the things people do sometimes . . . :blink: like the gum-chewers who ask for a napkin and when I hold one out they want to spit their gum into my hand . . . now I just tell them there are paper linens in the bathroom. (No oral refuse in my hand, thank you!)

At a trade tasting in Monterey, the setup staff gave each table two clear plastic pitchers--one for water and one for a dump pot. The winemaker and I were both busy answering questions at opposite ends of our table, and although I didn't see this happen, WM tells me later that he saw a man come up to our table and pour the spit wine into his glass. He swirled it, sniffed it, drank it, then poured some more in his glass and wandered off to offer it to his female companion! I practically shrieked (between gasps of laughter) at WM, "Why didn't you STOP him?" WM just shrugs and says, "What was I supposed to do, run after him in a crowded room yelling 'sir, you are drinking our swill?'"

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Mary Baker

Solid Communications

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