A woman received blowback on TikTok after shaming certain ready-to-cook meals at the grocery store.
Meagan Reitz (@meagan.reitz) posted the seven-second video, in which she scanned a row of ready-to-cook meals at an unnamed store. Viewers can see an array of options, such as steak and mac and cheese and chopped beef steak and mashed potatoes. As of Thursday morning, her video had over 965,600 views.
@meagan.reitz Who let this happen? #foodcontamination #foodfail #groceryfail #prepreparedmeals #mealprep #grocerystore #dinner #screammovie #VozDosCriadores ♬ original sound – meagan.reitz
“Anyone notice anything horrifying?” Reitz asked in the text overlay.
She doubled-down on her disgust in an accompanying comment, writing: “These meals are at my grocery store EVERY DAY!! Who buys this?!”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Reitz via TikTok comment. But her video suggested that she wasn’t a fan of the meal set-up. She also implied that there might be some cross-contamination going on as a result of the food’s packaging.
Most commenters, however, didn’t seem to have the same concerns.
“You realize you are going to put the entire thing into the oven right,” one user said.
“Nothing at all wrong with it,” another said. “Once it’s cooked you can eat it. I’ve been eating those things for years and have never been sick.”
“I think the ‘ready to cook’ sticker can give a little insight,” a third viewer quipped.
But some viewers seemed to agree with Reitz’s complaint.
“Lots of cross contamination!” one said.
“Raw meat with sides,” another added.
“The veggies are ok cus u can roast them.. BUT MASHED POTATOES,” a third viewer wrote.
According to the World Health Organization, cooking foods at temperatures of 149 degrees Fahrenheit or higher “rapidly” kills bacteria. And most online recipes for cooking steak in the oven suggest heating an oven to at least 275 degrees. One Delish recipe recommended 450 degrees. That said, any bacteria should be killed under these conditions.
