The growing concern for the environment has led us to seek new ways of buying and consuming. Sometimes, when we think about respect for the environment that surrounds us, we only look at actions that are unattainable for the ordinary citizen, but nothing is further from the opposite. We can all collaborate and make a better world. You've surely heard of the possibility of buy in bulk, an option lost over time but that, little by little, is recovering. Now you will be able to know how to access this easy way to buy food with the appropriate security measures. ¡Vamos!
Current situation
The vast majority of the products we buy in conventional supermarkets carry the packaging problem. This is often made of plastic, so after opening the product it becomes a very harmful waste for the environment. For this reason, more and more large stores are opening their bulk purchase offer. One much more offer economical and respectful with the ecosystem.
The first surface with these characteristics that opened in Europe was in Germany more than six years ago. But, right now in Spain there are more than 230 establishments where you can buy this way, although most experts agree that this has been carried out by the largest citizen awareness. And is that, most consumers prefer to put aside overpackaged foods.
Safety comes first when buying in bulk
These stores allow us to take the right amount of the product we need. In fact, the Ecology and Development Foundation (ECODES) recommends us to opt for the acquisition of food products in bulk. These points of sale offer us a wide catalog of food, such as legumes, flours, pasta, nuts, and many more. Even hygiene products such as soaps.
However, despite the fact that buy in bulk is a good option, you have to check the guarantees on hygiene and traceability than these products and the sites where they are sold. In fact, these requirements are established by Royal Decree 125/2015, a regulation that all products sold must comply with. unpackaged.
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To take into account when buying in bulk
Despite the fact that the purchase of products in large quantities is a perfect option of saving and respect for the environment all the measures of fullfilment of security requirements relevant. And it is that all the employees of these establishments must have knowledge about allergens, gluten or handling practices. Along with all this there are other points to study to guarantee our safety, among which we can find the following.
Cross contamination
One of the main risks of this type of purchase is the cross contamination, that is, that the food has come into contact with substances that may carry a risk, such as allergies or other pathologies. For this reason, it is advisable that each product that is going to buy is collected in a different utensil.
In addition, in many establishments we are the ones who serve ourselves the food we want, so there is no problem if the product it is not exposed. In fact, the big ones are very common transparent tubes in which the content is not manipulated directly.
Own packaging
The main objective is avoid waste generation, so it is more optimal to carry the home container to collect food, although this requires taking some precautions. According to various experts, glass is a good option, although this should be sanitized.
Along with this, it is advisable to avoid mixing jars with different products. And finally, there are certain foods that require a change of packaging once you get home, such as meat or fish. While the legumes or cereals you can leave them in the same container where you have collected them.
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Desired quantity
In addition to all the security measures already mentioned, you should also look at the weighing machine. You should know that the price should only be tied to the price of the product, discounting the tare of the container. On the other hand, if the food has a wrapper, the bag weight that contains it, as long as it is below the 10 grams when you buy a kilo.
Together with all these precautions and recommendations there are some others, such as, for example, do not use recycled paper, which includes newsprint. This is so because the ink in these leaves can alter the flavor of the product. Also, you must write down the batch and the date of consumption in case there were any problems when consuming it.
Did you know all these points to keep in mind about the buy in bulk? It is a very good consumer option that benefits both your pocket as the the environment. Will it be the most common purchase alternative for the future? Now you can start putting it into practice!
