What you don’t know about food safety at the grocery store may be putting your health at risk. At a minimum, it could be giving you bubble guts.
This is according to one woman who recently posted a PSA about how to make sure the grocery store food you buy is safe to eat.
“Today we’re going to talk about temp zones and load lines,” New York City-based comedian Sam Kochman begins a TikTok on the subject.
Before continuing, she stresses that this isn’t happening at any store in particular. According to Kochman, it’s happening at every store.
“I promise this is happening at every single store,” she says.
Kochman points her camera at a hot buffet that’s ubiquitous in American grocers. Then she directs viewers’ attention to little indentations on the sides of chafing trays.
She says these indentations mark what she refers to as the “temp zone.” Any food stacked above the indentation, she says, is outside the temp zone and potentially unsafe to eat.
“Anything that’s over that line, just like all this meat, is out of temp,” she says. “That is not safe to eat. These trays are overfilled. Do you see how it’s above that line on the corner?”
Kochman says this rule applies to cold buffet food, too.
Next she goes to a refrigerator case. These, Kochman says, have stripes on them known as load lines. These indicate the areas of the case where food and drinks maintain the proper temperature.
“Anything that’s in front of or above that line is out of temp and not safe to eat,” Kochman says.
Is She Right About Food Safety?
While there isn’t an overwhelming amount of information about temp zones and load lines, some sources do agree with Kochman’s advice.
In 2019, the Singapore Food Agency posted on its verified Facebook account, “Noticed a red horizontal line in supermarket chillers and not sure what it means? Known as the ‘load line,’ it indicates the level up to which food may be stored and kept at the correct temperature.”
“When buying dairy products and frozen food, always select those that have been stored or displayed below the ‘load line.'”
Supermarket Perimeter doesn’t come right out and say that food outside load lines is unsafe. It does, however, report that groceries stocked outside load lines “disrupt the air curtain of the case,” making it more difficult to cool.
Others online have claimed that grocers routinely stock items outside load lines.
Advice Justifies Common Shopping Habit
Kochman’s post struck a chord. As of this writing, it’s been viewed nearly 570,000 times and inspired more than 1,300 comments.
A common refrain was that Kochman’s PSA about load lines is just one more reason to pick items from the back. Many people select items from the back of the shelf. These are typically stocked most recently and apt to stay fresh longer.
“This makes me feel better about always grabbing an item from the back,” said one.
Some self-described veterans of grocery stores said that education about load lines and temp zones is woefully lacking.
“You would be shocked to know most employees are not required to take food safety classes or hold a food handlers card even though they are handling food daily,” one wrote.
And a few wondered if where you select food from buffets and refrigerated cases is giving you bubble guts.
“A big contributor to ‘chronic tummy issues’ is just basic food safety that people don’t know or practice,” one commented.
@samkochman I shop at both of these stores so don’t come for them. Just be aware of the temp zones!
Kochman didn’t respond to BroBible’s emailed inquiry.