Dollar Store Ingredients

[themusicaldemocrat]

What does everyone think about cooking ingredients at dollar stores? I have seen off brands that just looked a little iffy to me and stayed away. But I don't know if that's fair or not. They are definitely cheaper and if the expiration date is fine then I don't know what's bothering me. What does everyone else think?

 

[Tara]

I don't like to purchase any food from the Dollar Tree, 99Cent Only Stores or anything like them. I imagine that they are made of the lowest quality, full of preservatives and GMO ingredients.

I recently visited my friend on vacation. Her pantry was full of food from these types of stores. I just couldn't bring myself to eat any of her food. Fortunately, I am a much better cook than her so I made dinner for us. Unfortunately, I had to travel quite a distance to get to a grocery store that I like.

 

[OhioTom76]

I don't mind them at all. You can save a lot of money just by buying some of your grocery list at these stores vs. the big chain grocery stores. Many of the products are the same brands as a matter of fact, but even the off brand products are often fine depending on what you get. If you're buying condiments for example, such as ketchup and mustard and pickles, those would easily cost $3-$4 a piece at a grocery store, and you can get them for $1 each at the discount stores. That's saving several bucks right there without even needing any coupons or waiting for something to go on sale. I just picked up several jars of pasta sauce for 89 cents each at local discount grocery store, those would normally be about $5 a piece at other grocery stores. Some of them also have good quality spices for $1 each, instead of paying $4-$5 for McCormick brand stuff.

 

[MyDigitalpoint]

I imagine that they are made of the lowest quality, full of preservatives and GMO ingredients.

This is the real problem with dollar stores, or low-price brands, it's not about quality of the products but IMAGINATION.

We have been educated by media that only those renowned brands that are advertised massively are good, and the publicity "genius" bombard us with commercials narrating how good is a food that may cost more but "quality is what really matters."

Sometimes those popularly known, advertised products may be good quality, but not necessarily, as those from dollar stores are necessarily bad.

In most countries/states/cities there are regulatory authorities that verify products sold in stores regardless their range price. If those from dollar stores would be as worst as people imagine, those authorities would already taken off the market.

Now, this does not mean that the products in your dollar store are the best, depending on the store chains, quality and taste of those products vary, and you can always try some to see if their quality meet you taste and nutritional requirements

 

[crimsonghost747]

If you start to investigate deeper... I've sometimes found that these cheaper products have been made at the exactly same factory as the "higher quality" one. That made me wonder if it isn't just someone putting the 2 foods into two different can, the other one being the cheap one they ship to discount stores and the other being the high quality brand one advertized on TV.

Though with most products I do notice a difference between the cheap and the more expensive one. Then it comes down to your personal preference and price vs quality. I usually buy both at first and then see if the more expensive one is that much better or not.

As already pointed out by DigitalPoint there are no health risks with these cheaper ones though. Food is controlled in the same way, no matter how expensive it is.

 

[themusicaldemocrat]

Yes, there is some truth that products are all manufactured at the same plant. The only difference is the label and of course the price. I think my only real concern is with shelf life. Because less people will buy grocery items at a dollar store, they are apt to stay there longer. The staffing in dollar stores seems to be smaller also, so I'm sure they simply don't have time to stay on top of the dates.

 

[crimsonghost747]

Yes, there is some truth that products are all manufactured at the same plant. The only difference is the label and of course the price. I think my only real concern is with shelf life. Because less people will buy grocery items at a dollar store, they are apt to stay there longer. The staffing in dollar stores seems to be smaller also, so I'm sure they simply don't have time to stay on top of the dates.

The date is always market on the product. If you find the products to be of the same quality, then I guess saving $1 just by checking the date on the product is a good deal.

 

[oivas]

I do buy and I find the quality to be fine. I think it is a matter of mind over reality. We have been conditioned to think that anything which is cheap (cost wise) is cheap in quality too. We do not realize that many a times the same food item may come from the same factory, yet is priced differently.

For example, my dollar store does not advertise and so they do not have the marketing and advertising cost, so they are that much cheaper. The more renowned brands are renowned because they advertise a lot and we all know about them. So, my suggestion is that we should try out the ingredients without much of bias and make a real informed call.

 

[Tara]

This is the real problem with dollar stores, or low-price brands, it's not about quality of the products but IMAGINATION.

We have been educated by media that only those renowned brands that are advertised massively are good, and the publicity "genius" bombard us with commercials narrating how good is a food that may cost more but "quality is what really matters."

Sometimes those popularly known, advertised products may be good quality, but not necessarily, as those from dollar stores are necessarily bad.

In most countries/states/cities there are regulatory authorities that verify products sold in stores regardless their range price. If those from dollar stores would be as worst as people imagine, those authorities would already taken off the market.

Now, this does not mean that the products in your dollar store are the best, depending on the store chains, quality and taste of those products vary, and you can always try some to see if their quality meet you taste and nutritional requirements

I guess it depends on your point of view. I don't buy products with a lot of preservatives, salt, sugar and growth hormones. I also do my very best to buy non-gmo food. I'm a big fan of organic veggies. I feel so much better since I cleaned up my diet. I didn't know that I wasn't feeling great until I changed my diet.

 

[crimsonghost747]

One good way to try it is to actually

I guess it depends on your point of view. I don't buy products with a lot of preservatives, salt, sugar and growth hormones. I also do my very best to buy non-gmo food. I'm a big fan of organic veggies. I feel so much better since I cleaned up my diet. I didn't know that I wasn't feeling great until I changed my diet.

But have you actually checked and noticed that the dollar store products have more preservatives, salt etc compared to the other ones. Or are you just assuming this because they are cheaper? Like I said, a lot of the time they are made at the exactly same factory.

 

[MyDigitalpoint]

Well, let me tell you that I don't rule my criteria in what ingredients they have but how they taste and if those ingredients match my taste, I don't care if they have more salt, because I use to add more salt to the products that seems to have little to my taste. And about preservatives, I grew up eating canned food by the time when all canned products had excess of these, and I'm actually a healthy person that never has had a problem resulted from eating those products since the times when cans didn't even have the actual coating that prevents food contamination problems.

And this is not for the cheap price at the dollar stores. When I go to a regular supermarket, I either pay attention to the ingredients that products contain, but again leave it the choice to my taste, and look that I love anchovies that are sooo salty and do expensive.

 

[Annetteb]

I buy name brand and cheap ingredients all the time. There's really not much of a difference between the two. I think that a lot of them are the same just different names. I know some find a difference, but I don't see a difference. I like to get name brand ingredients, but sometimes my wallet can't afford it.

 

[crimsonghost747]

I buy name brand and cheap ingredients all the time. There's really not much of a difference between the two. I think that a lot of them are the same just different names. I know some find a difference, but I don't see a difference. I like to get name brand ingredients, but sometimes my wallet can't afford it.

That is the main reason why I go for the cheaper ones. The difference is very small and the price can be double if you want a well known brand.
So for regular meals etc. I prefer to go with the cheap ones and then I always have money to buy a few quality things (such as cheese, I love cheese!) where I can go for the more expensive ones.

 

[Annetteb]

Exactly. I like to go cheaper so that I can save money and buy other things I need. My sister always gets name brand. She doesn't like to get off brand because she doesn't think it's just as good as name brand. I have tried to tell her that there is not much of a difference between the two, but she would rather stick with name brands.

 

[crimsonghost747]

Exactly. I like to go cheaper so that I can save money and buy other things I need. My sister always gets name brand. She doesn't like to get off brand because she doesn't think it's just as good as name brand. I have tried to tell her that there is not much of a difference between the two, but she would rather stick with name brands.

What you should do is invite her for dinner one night and cook most of the meal using cheap products which you find to have good quality too. And just casually mention it after the dinner.