Why does nobody talk about how grocery store lighting messes with your produce picks?

I swear every time I buy avocados or tomatoes from my local Kroger in Columbus, they look perfect under those bright lights but then get home and they're either rock hard or already going bad. It's not just me, right? I bought 4 avocados last Tuesday, they all looked dark and ripe in the store, but 2 were bruised inside and 1 was like a green rock still. The other one turned into mush by Thursday. I started bringing a small LED flashlight to check them in the bagging area away from the store lights, and now I actually get good ones 4 out of 5 times. Has anyone else figured out a trick for this or do you just accept the gamble?

2 comments

2 Comments

nancythomas1mo agoMost Upvoted

The LED flashlight trick is smart but you might be fighting the wrong thing. Most grocery stores use full spectrum fluorescent lights that make colors pop but don't actually change how ripe produce is. You're probably just getting unlucky with the avocados themselves since they're almost never stored at the right temperature.

juliashah1mo ago

Most grocery stores use full spectrum fluorescent lights that make colors pop" - but doesn't that still trick you into grabbing stuff that looks better than it actually is? I dunno, feel like people have been buying bad avocados way before fancy lights were a thing.