Unfortunately, nowadays it is difficult to be sure that the food on the market shelves or the butcher shops is fresh, just because it passed the “legal procedures”, namely that it is not bad or of low quality.
The controls of the qualities are regular, but not detailed because there are a lot of “black holes” in the regulative which often enable products of low quality or old imported products to be placed on the market, without considering this as a fraud for the customers.
First, obligatory step of every shopper is of course the check of the declaration, if the product has it, but it is always safer to buy products of domestic production which are often with higher price, but the chances of them having the best by date overdue are lower.
Besides, it is most important to include your senses of sight and smell when buying food. For example, when buying chicken, pay attention to the white stripes and the big layer of fat over the chicken breast. If you see this on the meat, it means that the chicken was fed with hormones to get more weight in a shorter period of time.
Also, pay attention to the color. If the chicken meat has a yellow-ish color, it means that it is not fresh for sure, because the fresh meat has pink color.
Usually, the red color of the meat implicates that the meat is older. The beef has natural red color with a firm texture. This type of meat should be with small and not big stripes, while the thick yellowish, fatty strips point out to the fact that the meat is of older animal. If you notice greyish or black parts on the beef – do not buy it! Mainly, the fraud is most common in ground meat – that is why you should ask for the meat to be grinded in front of you. Lamb meat should have light pink color, and according to the texture it should be as firm as the beef.
Fake honey
The experts say that true, natural honey is not sticky. If you spread it with your fingers, it should not stick on them, and if it does, it means that it contains sugar or artificial sweeteners.
You can also test honey with water – put a teaspoon of honey in a glass of water. If it sinks right away – the honey is natural. The fake honey will immediately start to dissolve in the water. There is one more check – put a drop of honey on your finger. The true, thick honey will stay on the same spot, while the fake one will quickly start to go down on the finger.
Sour cream
To check whether the sour cream you buy has vegetable instead of dairy fays, take a spoon of sour cream and pour it in a glass of warm water. The product of low quality will start to fall apart in sort of white clumps which will come up on the surface, while the good type of sour cream will turn into a homogenous thick liquid.
Quality of cheese can also be checked, as well as frozen fruits and vegetables, fish, ice cream… This video can show you the quick methods of checking of different types of food products.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uQ6XNr_10I
