Is this the price we pay for trying to save money at the supermarket?

Apparently there's a reason your bags of potatoes are peeling like... THIS. 

The ongoing cost of living crisis has many Aussies chasing the best deals at the supermarket, with some of us even changing where we normally shop to nab cheaper groceries for the family. 

But after a recent trip to ALDI, I get it now. Sometimes there's a reason something is on "special". 

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The price we pay to save money

I normally avoid anything bagged when shopping for fresh fruit and veg because I'm a bit old school and like to carefully select and inspect each item before committing to the purchase.

But for the sake of saving a buck, I recently decided to grab a bag of washed red potatoes from the shelf. I needed them for dinner that night (meaning longevity wasn't important), and they were on special (meaning it was cheaper). What could go wrong?

As I began peeling, I realised a lot actually!

The 2kg bag (RRP $6.99) was filled with potatoes that appeared reasonably normal on the outside but as I kept peeling, were either spotted with brown patches or completely discoloured. 

I peeled one, gross, put it to the side.

I peeled another, gross again, off to the side. 

By the third, fourth and fifth, I realised I might be short on potatoes that I could actually cook for dinner. 

RELATED: Four ways to beat speedy ALDI cashiers at the checkout

Brown and inedible from ALDI. Image: Supplied

What's going on with supermarket potatoes? 

I couldn't help but feel a little ripped off. 

"Is this the price we pay for trying to save money at the supermarket?" I asked myself. 

A little concerned, I took to social media to ask if anyone else had experienced the same with the potatoes from ALDI and as it turned out, it's not just something that people have noticed from the German supermarket and rather something that is happening with a lot of potatoes across the supermarket giants like Coles and Woolworths and even independent grocers too. 

"It's not just ALDI I've noticed," one person commented, while others suggested the reason for potatoes to appear this way was because they were in "cool storage for too long" or even "frozen" to preserve shelf life.

"I've had this a few times from potatoes I got from a different supermarket - I even selected each one. Not in a bag," a mum told Kidspot. "Something is definitely going on."

A shopper even took to Reddit to ask the question that was certainly on my mind. 

"With the amount of potatoes I throw out of the bag I’m starting to wonder if it’s even worth the cost savings?" they wrote after also falling victim to ALDI's bagged potatoes. 

"It seems every time I buy a bag of potatoes within a week they’re rotten and moldy and dripping ooze inside. Aren’t potatoes supposed to be known to last a super long time?"

RELATED: Mum discovers secret to free meat at Woolworths

What the supermarkets say

While storing and growing conditions could obviously play a part in produce appearing this way, we figured the best people to get clarification on the issue were AUSVEG, the industry body for the Australian vegetable, potato and onion industry. 

And according to AUSVEG, we have nothing to worry about.

"Australian growers produce some of the highest quality and food safety standards in the world, and are also subject to rigorous quality, safety and cosmetic standards and specifications required by retailers," the rep told Kidspot, while also confirming growing conditions can play a big part in how they look at the time of purchase. 

"During growing, slight variations in environmental conditions – such as drier, warmer or wetter conditions than usual – can lead to some minor aesthetic differences in a crop, but it is difficult to determine from the pictures supplied, without further analysis.

"Retailers only accept produce that meets their standards, so anything supplied by a grower to a retailer must be of a very high standard on delivery. Once a retailer has accepted a shipment from a grower, any further arrangements for shipping, storage and delivery to shelf would be a consideration for them.

"Anything that retailers do make available for sale is also subject to rigorous food safety standards and testing."

As for storing after sale, that's up to the supermarkets to respond. 

"Any specific questions about what they make available for sale on the shelf would be best addressed by the relevant retailer."

That being said, Woolworths maintains that this is the first time they've heard of such an issue. 

"We’re not aware of this issue being raised directly with us by customers," a Woolies spokesperson told Kidspot. 

"We work closely with our potato growers throughout the growing season, maintaining communication and conducting farm visits to ensure a shared understanding of quality standards and to select potatoes that meet consumer expectations."

Kidspot also reached out to ALDI and Coles for comment. 

Originally published as Is this the price we pay for trying to save money at the supermarket?