Russians Risk Death in Buying and Eating Expired Food
by Susan on 05/26/09 at 8:13 am
Something a little odd about this expiration date
Let’s pretend you’re down on your luck and have trouble affording food. What, in your opinion, is worse?
- Shoplifting food from your local supermarkets, hedging your bet that you won’t be caught, which is happening in the U.S.A? (See Food Shoplifting on the Rise )
or - Buying outdated, spoiled and rotten food for pennies on the dollar, hedging your bet that you won’t die, which is happening in Russia?
Is there really an answer to this question?
Well, desperate times call for desperate measures, and it looks like many Russians are in as dire straits as some Americans. According to an article published in the Los Angeles Times, there is a growing tendency for desperate Russians to frequent the open-air markets that sell out-of-date food. The vendors at these markets are doing a booming business selling expired food products to a growing clientele – mainly elderly citizens who fall into the category of “down on their luck.” When the stalls are set up to sell their outdated wares, hoards of men and women, in well-worn clothes, inspect the offerings, selecting the least spoiled foods from the best of the worst.
It is illegal to sell outdated and expired food products under Russian law, but the poor economy has created a not-so-underground black market for slightly past-their-prime products. And while markets undergo regular state inspections, they always pass. After all, they’re providing a “service.”
Reporter Megan K. Stack paints a depressing picture of desperate souls who buy moldy cheese, rotting fish, slimy chicken and odorous sausage, finding ways to cook and prepare the food so it is moderately palatable.
This brings us back to the original question. Which is worse: shoplifting food and hoping you aren’t caught or buying spoiled food and hoping you don’t die?
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