How Many People Have Touched Your Tomato?

Have you ever thought how many people might have touched that tomato (or any other fruit and veg) you picked up from the store? Studies have shown that, on any given day, hundreds of people might have picked up or handled that exact same tomato. Hundreds. And it’s possible that that tomato has been out on display for a good while, perhaps even a week. That’s a lot of hands.

And it’s not just customers. That tomato was picked, packaged, shipped, and loaded in and out of trucks (or even planes or boats). Somebody unpacked it at the grocery store; someone else moved it around the store room and put it out on display. That’s even more hands.

But at Buffalo Market, our farm to table philosophy means you needn’t worry about this. We do things differently. We do things better. To illustrate, consider the question How dirty can a tomato bought from a typical store be? The answer will shock you.

This deep dive into bacteria in grocery stores and supermarkets is fairly revealing…not to mention shocking! The study revealed that produce from a typical grocery store contained 746 times more bacteria than a car’s steering wheel. Not only that, but carts and trolleys were found to contain nearly 361 times more bacteria than a bathroom door knob. And that’s before you even get to the checkout belt…

Studies have found the handles and seats of trolleys are teeming with bacteria. And not just cold and flu germs either, but also salmonella and E. coli from packages of raw meat. Consumers and big box store employees cross contaminate foods and germs from flu. And remember, when people are sick they often run to the store to pick up some medicine and fuel up on orange juice and soups.

Of course, Covid-19 has brought further concerns about the transmission of bacteria and viruses from the handling of produce, so it’s understandable that people are concerned with just how “clean” their produce really is, especially if it’s being selected, packed, and delivered by someone else. But at Buffalo Market, we can alleviate such concerns.

We don’t get our produce from supermarkets, or select them from a display where they’ve been handled by hundreds of people. We work directly with local farmers and suppliers, picking up fresh produce every day – the only people who’ll have touched your tomato are the farmers/pickers, and our highly trained staff who wear both masks and gloves.

We’ve also streamlined our processes to ensure that produce passes from farm to a bag outside your door with the fewest possible people handling it.

It’s good practice to thoroughly wash all fruit and veg before consuming it, but our tomatoes – and all our produce – is as clean as it can possibly be. We are proud of our produce.  Shop our local and fresh vegetables and fruits and see the benefits of our farm to table approach for yourself?