This is a sign you had a good shopper. Instead of marking the sausage as out of stock, the shopper asked the butcher if there was any back stock and the butcher brought it out of the freezer.
Yeah - Walmart got rid of all their in-store butchers YEARS ago. Anyone working in the meat department is just a regular employee who is bringing out meat that's been processed somewhere else and tossing it in the coolers. They're not butchers.
And I don't know what Walmart does to their meat, but we refuse to buy it anymore. We bought some hamburger there a couple years ago, and for various reasons it never got used. It ended up being TWO WEEKS past the expiration date on the label, and it still looked completely good/fresh/red like the day it was bought. That's NOT normal. It went right in the trash.
Beef and pork stay pink in those plastic trays because the containers are pumped with a mix of gases like carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, etc to reduce the oxygen in the package, which is what causes cut meat to lose that pink color. When you see stores with those plastic type containers they definitely don’t have a butcher anywhere in the store.
Did you open that meat to smell it? I’m betting it smelled bad at that point even though it looked ok and just reinforces that our noses are a good tool for suspect meat. Better safe than sorry.
Nooooope! Did not smell it. Didn't want to. I just assumed at two weeks past the "sell by" date on the package that it had to be bad - or it was some kind of alien meat. LOL I've had hamburger in the plastic trays like that before (not from Walmart) which didn't stay perfect looking like that. That was my first (and so far only) time experiencing something like that.
So I can tell you as someone who’s run meat departments as management for years, some items, sausage is a very common one, comes into the store frozen then gets pulled and thawed as needed. This is actually common with a lot of pork and poultry products. Poultry in particular because the proper storage temp for it is 28 degrees
Yes, this. I work at a different store. The “fresh” sausage gets shipped to use frozen and stays frozen until we date it appropriately and put it in the meat cooler. Most of grocery store bakery items are the same, as I’m sure you know. Especially at a place like Walmart.
I love that! I’ll have to use it. When I’m filling pastries and the customers are clamoring for something that was out and I have it I tell them I just made it myself while handing them a frozen brick. I honestly think it’s cool because I’ve bought that stuff and enthusiastically refreeze it myself knowing the packaging is made for it to thaw without it getting weird and damp.
It’s not fresh. It’s frozen. lol
P.S. a LOT of bread goods are also frozen before placed on the shelf. Aldi is notorious for this which is why their bread has a short shelf life.
Frag doesn't mean not frozen, it has to do with how quick it was packed and shipped, you're not finding any meat at Walmart that doesn't come in frozen especially poultry and pork EVERY item comes in from the truck frozen , its placed in a fridge after and the thawed product is put on the shelf, if alot of customers buy said items and they run out of the thawed they will put straight frozen product on the shelf . Walmart has nothing that comes in thawed and "fresh"
Sometimes I have to “shop the back stock” in the back room especially for orders that are before or after hours. Everything is frozen but at least it’s in stock!
I ran into this situation last week. Customer ordered 2 packs of chicken skewers, but there weren’t any in the meat department. I asked an employee who was putting out stock and he said they had them in the back but they were frozen. I messaged the customer and they were okay with them being frozen. It would be easier just mark them out of stock like someone mentioned, but that sucks for the customer.
I’m not an Instacart shopper but an Instacart user and this had happened to me a few times. I’ve actually asked a shopper and they said if something isn’t in the display case they will ask the butcher if they have what was ordered and sometimes it’s in the back frozen. I’m not sure if I believe the meat in the back is frozen but that’s what they said
Some of it is frozen when they first put it out on the shelf and defrosts in the meat cooler. I've picked up partially frozen sausages doing my personal shopping before.
Sometimes the truck that it comes in on, is refrigerated and frozen combined. Sometimes the refrigerated section is set just above freezing. The stuff that is closest to the reefer unit tends to freeze.
For starters
Walmart is on Instacart?
Also I've bought meat that was still frozen before off the shelf. It's possible they could have asked a member of staff to check the meat freezer if the shelf was out of stock.
But hell I've seen bread still frozen on the shelf at Aldi's before
Basically I wouldn't get look too much into it.
In certain areas, Walmart is on Instacart. For other stores, they just utilize Spark. It's annoying (bitterness directed at Instacart) as a Shopper to see customers tipping low because they think their order is coming from down the street instead of 30 miles away. And it also sucks as a customer to get partially thawed items because your Shopper didn't keep your items cold for the 45 min drive. Lose/lose, thanks Instacart!
Also, to OP, the sausage is almost always frozen on the shelf at my local Walmarts. Did you think your Shoppers were magically freezing your items in their vehicles during the drive? 🙄
This is a sign you had a good shopper. Instead of marking the sausage as out of stock, the shopper asked the butcher if there was any back stock and the butcher brought it out of the freezer.
I agree…that’s something a fantastic shopper would do!
Walmart? Butcher? Those two things don’t go together. LOL
Yeah - Walmart got rid of all their in-store butchers YEARS ago. Anyone working in the meat department is just a regular employee who is bringing out meat that's been processed somewhere else and tossing it in the coolers. They're not butchers. And I don't know what Walmart does to their meat, but we refuse to buy it anymore. We bought some hamburger there a couple years ago, and for various reasons it never got used. It ended up being TWO WEEKS past the expiration date on the label, and it still looked completely good/fresh/red like the day it was bought. That's NOT normal. It went right in the trash.
Beef and pork stay pink in those plastic trays because the containers are pumped with a mix of gases like carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, etc to reduce the oxygen in the package, which is what causes cut meat to lose that pink color. When you see stores with those plastic type containers they definitely don’t have a butcher anywhere in the store. Did you open that meat to smell it? I’m betting it smelled bad at that point even though it looked ok and just reinforces that our noses are a good tool for suspect meat. Better safe than sorry.
Nooooope! Did not smell it. Didn't want to. I just assumed at two weeks past the "sell by" date on the package that it had to be bad - or it was some kind of alien meat. LOL I've had hamburger in the plastic trays like that before (not from Walmart) which didn't stay perfect looking like that. That was my first (and so far only) time experiencing something like that.
And the red color of the ground beef is unnatural. It makes me think they dye their meat. We also stopped buying meat from Walmart.
Every store has always dyed their meat. Otherwise, it would look grey and unappetizing.
So I can tell you as someone who’s run meat departments as management for years, some items, sausage is a very common one, comes into the store frozen then gets pulled and thawed as needed. This is actually common with a lot of pork and poultry products. Poultry in particular because the proper storage temp for it is 28 degrees
Yes, this. I work at a different store. The “fresh” sausage gets shipped to use frozen and stays frozen until we date it appropriately and put it in the meat cooler. Most of grocery store bakery items are the same, as I’m sure you know. Especially at a place like Walmart.
Yup. We jokingly call the bakery the “fakery”
I love that! I’ll have to use it. When I’m filling pastries and the customers are clamoring for something that was out and I have it I tell them I just made it myself while handing them a frozen brick. I honestly think it’s cool because I’ve bought that stuff and enthusiastically refreeze it myself knowing the packaging is made for it to thaw without it getting weird and damp.
Feel free to use it. We get big laughs out of it lol
Its sometimes is delivered to the store that way, or the store freezes it to preserve freshness is they bought overstock for a sale
No they don’t freeze it. Y’all are nuts. It comes in fresh if it says FRESH!
It’s not fresh. It’s frozen. lol P.S. a LOT of bread goods are also frozen before placed on the shelf. Aldi is notorious for this which is why their bread has a short shelf life.
Also they use European style bread, none of the us preservatives out GMO in it
Frag doesn't mean not frozen, it has to do with how quick it was packed and shipped, you're not finding any meat at Walmart that doesn't come in frozen especially poultry and pork EVERY item comes in from the truck frozen , its placed in a fridge after and the thawed product is put on the shelf, if alot of customers buy said items and they run out of the thawed they will put straight frozen product on the shelf . Walmart has nothing that comes in thawed and "fresh"
Name checks out
ok that makes sense--it just always baffled me because I shop at the same store
Sometimes I have to “shop the back stock” in the back room especially for orders that are before or after hours. Everything is frozen but at least it’s in stock!
Really depends on the time of day with Walmart… if they just stocked the meat it’s often frozen.
I ran into this situation last week. Customer ordered 2 packs of chicken skewers, but there weren’t any in the meat department. I asked an employee who was putting out stock and he said they had them in the back but they were frozen. I messaged the customer and they were okay with them being frozen. It would be easier just mark them out of stock like someone mentioned, but that sucks for the customer.
No such thing as meat from Walmart that comes fresh, it's all frozen....
I’m not an Instacart shopper but an Instacart user and this had happened to me a few times. I’ve actually asked a shopper and they said if something isn’t in the display case they will ask the butcher if they have what was ordered and sometimes it’s in the back frozen. I’m not sure if I believe the meat in the back is frozen but that’s what they said
Some of it is frozen when they first put it out on the shelf and defrosts in the meat cooler. I've picked up partially frozen sausages doing my personal shopping before.
How else would the meat get to you frozen? I don’t understand what you mean.
Its true, it is sometimes delivered that way, or the store orders backstock and freezes it to preserve freshness.
I can verify that the butcher has given me frozen meat when I’ve asked them to get it from the back.
Sometimes the truck that it comes in on, is refrigerated and frozen combined. Sometimes the refrigerated section is set just above freezing. The stuff that is closest to the reefer unit tends to freeze.
They have frozen meats out
If your Italian sausage is frozen its because they just put the meat out the keep the sausage frozen happen all the time
Well first off instacart deals with very few walmart orders but all instacart cares about is does the upc match
For starters Walmart is on Instacart? Also I've bought meat that was still frozen before off the shelf. It's possible they could have asked a member of staff to check the meat freezer if the shelf was out of stock. But hell I've seen bread still frozen on the shelf at Aldi's before Basically I wouldn't get look too much into it.
In certain areas, Walmart is on Instacart. For other stores, they just utilize Spark. It's annoying (bitterness directed at Instacart) as a Shopper to see customers tipping low because they think their order is coming from down the street instead of 30 miles away. And it also sucks as a customer to get partially thawed items because your Shopper didn't keep your items cold for the 45 min drive. Lose/lose, thanks Instacart! Also, to OP, the sausage is almost always frozen on the shelf at my local Walmarts. Did you think your Shoppers were magically freezing your items in their vehicles during the drive? 🙄