Grocery Store Tricks

If meat is packaged under the watch of federal inspectors, supermarkets cannot change the date on the package, but if retailers butchered and packaged the meat themselves, they can change the label any time they choose. In fact, 30 states do not regulate the expiration dates for most items.

Some stores use special lighting to make bananas look more appealing. They filter an ambient light to highlight the bananas so they appear more yellow. Water sprayed on produce makes veggies look fresh, but keeping them wet actually makes them rot faster. It also makes produce heavier and therefore pricier.