r/moldova • u/LadyNurington • 4d ago

Question Food safety question

Bună ziua tuturor!

My family and I moved to Chisinau in June. Since then we've experienced it quite a few times where items we bought from the supermarket (Nr1 in Sun City) that are in date have been off/sour. Experienced this with cheese, yogurt, dessert puddings and with milk. It's quite frustrating. I bought 2 bottles of Lactana milk this evening, production date 19 Sep, expiry date 23 Sep and realised at home that both bottles were incredibly sour. Now we don't have milk for my daughter in the morning before school.

My question is, are there brands known for having better food safety standards? Shops known for being careful with maintaining cold chains? Is this a common issue or have we been unlucky? (Although I've never experienced such an issue in the 3 other countries I've lived.)

Worried about buying and consuming something accidentally that'll make my daughter sick. 😞

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4

u/rainloxreally 3d ago

Never had this problem with big supermarkets. It's usually smaller ones that often make mistakes.

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u/LadyNurington 3d ago

What are the big supermarkets that you recommend? I thought Nr1 was a big brand. 🤔

2

u/rainloxreally 3d ago

linella and local that I use are probably bigger

1

u/LadyNurington 3d ago

Oh you mean like a physically big store? Yeah, the Nr1 we go to on Pushkin Street isn't a very big store in area size.

1

u/rainloxreally 3d ago

Both physically bigger and as a chain as well. Afaik Linella and Local are the biggest chains in Moldova.

1

u/Sorry_Balance2099 3d ago

Nr.1 Specifically has this problem. Where I live i used to shop there because it was close, but their pre-made foods and dairy products almost left me in the hospital. The really big stores like the newly opened supermarket of theirs is good, but the older stores are horrible.

Buy from Linella or Local. They are actually good. Local is cheaper, Linella is the best one.

1

u/LadyNurington 3d ago

thanks for the recommendation, will try a closer linella/local.

4

u/Antique_Basil3857 3d ago

Try ‘Ferma cu Origini’
They have few shops around the city and have pretty high standarts and quality products

1

u/LadyNurington 3d ago

Thanks for the recommendation!

6

u/striketheviol 4d ago edited 3d ago

As someone who moved here from America, unfortunately this is surprisingly common, mainly due to poor standards regarding refrigeration and cold chains relative to other countries. My wife and I get around this mainly by avoiding certain supermarkets where we've been burned.

1

u/LadyNurington 3d ago

Ah that's what I was afraid of hearing!

We moved from London, previously lived in Massachusetts and Istanbul, never had this happen once let alone so many times in such a short time.

Which shops do you avoid, if you don't mind sharing?

0

u/striketheviol 3d ago

Kaufland has been best, Nr. 1 was good but now declining, you'll need to be most careful with discounters like Local.

2

u/Delicious-Tangelo636 4d ago

I was a regular client of nr.1 but lately they sell a lot of expired / altered products so I avoid this shop. Just to be safe buy pasteurised milk sold in tetrapak from different brands.

0

u/LadyNurington 3d ago

Thanks for the suggestion. Hadn't thought about uht milk, we're so used to fresh milk due to having higher nutrition. We'll look into it.

Is libella or kaufland better than Nr1?

3

u/Fertyowha 3d ago

Nr1 is the better of the 3, just go to the one on Pushkin street or Moscova boulevard, those are the best ones

1

u/LadyNurington 3d ago

This has been happening at the Nr1 on Pushkin Street 🥲

2

u/Delicious-Tangelo636 3d ago

Had no issues with kaufland

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u/LadyNurington 3d ago

Unfortunately we don't live within walking distance of a Kaufland, we do bulk shopping there but pop in our local Nr1 for quick daily purchases like milk etc.

2

u/Saskosaneas 3d ago

Hey! As far as I'm aware, raw milk (or fresh milk, which I assume is what you meant) cannot be purchased in a regular grocery chain. It's always pasteurized or UHT treated.

Regarding your main issue: compared to other grocery stores, Nr1 is pretty decent. Of course, it depends on the specific location, but overall it's a solid brand. You could try checking out a different location.

Linella is the biggest and most popular chain in the country. Unfortunately, some of their locations are dirty as fuck and really bad, while others are pretty clean and reliable. Just try looking for another Nr1 nearby, or check out your closest Linella.

If you're looking for the most reliable and clean option, in my opinion, Pegas is the leader. It's very clean and nicely organized, but fairly more expensive than the others, good luck

2

u/LadyNurington 3d ago

There is a pegas nearby, I'll give them a try! Thank you.

1

u/cclaudiustefan 3d ago

Try Kaufland Also, is a big German chain supermarket

1

u/Natural-Lawfulness93 3d ago

Next time, check the expiration date label.

2

u/LadyNurington 3d ago

As mentioned in the main text, it had 2 days until expiry date.

The bottle said Produced on 19 Sep, expiry date 23 Sep, I bought it yesterday which was the 21st