[zifnab06]

I can't tell if Safeway has gotten worse or if I've just been shopping at the expensive organic place for too long.

I can go buy produce from Safeway on a Sunday, and have it be molding by Wednesday. And not even stuff that goes bad quickly (like, peaches mid summer are amazing but they're very fresh/ripe and will go bad in a few days). Apples. Potatoes. Onions. Things that, when fresh, last for months if kept in a cool dark place.

[parrellel]

You aren't hallucinating, the quality of Safeway produce is and is increasingly shit. Last time I was in one, they had a pile of moldy ginger, and I have no idea how they managed it.

[zifnab06]

I spent a bit of time earlier trying to figure out who owned what in Seattle earlier. What I got out of it:

* QFC/Fred Meyer are owned by Kroger * Safeway/Albertsons are owned by a capital management company (Cerberus) * PCC, Red Apple, Town and Country, and Metro Market are local. * UNFI owns SuperValu, which is the main distributor for Whole Foods / IGA / possibly some others in the 'local' list.

The depressing part of this: most of grocery stores in the area are owned by 3 companies. And they've all turned into a complete garbage race to the bottom "what's the minimum quality we can sell and still consider food".

[labster]

I have a Vons, they became pretty similar to sister brand Safeway in the past decade. It's definitely worse produce now.

Organic used to be things with more damage from insects and such, and have a shorter shelf life. Now it's food that costs more, so it has higher quality.