Has anyone else noticed produce quality dropping since the big suppliers consolidated?

I swear, the tomatoes I got from my usual vendor last week were pale and mealy compared to what I was getting two years ago. It feels like since the top three distributors merged, the freshness just isn't there anymore. On the other hand, the local farm co-op started delivering to my kitchen and their herbs are way more vibrant. But their prices are higher and they can't always guarantee supply. What's your experience been - are we losing quality for convenience, or is it just my bad luck with orders? Anyone else seeing this shift in their own kitchen?

3 comments

3 Comments

sagejackson23d ago

@fionamurphy do you think the consolidation is hurting quality or just making supply chains too complicated?

fionanguyen23d ago

Wait, did you actually check if your tomatoes were local or just from the same mega-distributor your usual vendor uses? Because I think that's the real trick here - the big guys slap "farm fresh" labels on everything even when the produce traveled 2,000 miles on a truck. I've started looking up the actual growing region on the stickers and it's eye-opening. The local co-op stuff is probably more expensive because they're paying actual farmers a fair wage, not because they're gouging you. But honestly, I'd rather pay an extra dollar for herbs that don't wilt overnight than save money on cardboard-tasting tomatoes. Have you compared the actual shipping distances between your vendors? That might explain more than just consolidation.

fionamurphy23d ago

Are you sure those tomatoes weren't shipped by the same truck that brought my work boots?