Did buying bread just get a lot easier? TikTok creator Justice Z (@ztheeunicorn)—who has a knack for providing her 13,800 followers with helpful life hacks—shares a potential trick for buying bread based on the day it was delivered to the grocery store.
@ztheeunicorn Since yall are here I might as well tell you my ither life hacks #lifehack #shoppinghack #grocerystorehack #colorcode #breadcode #didyouknow #fyp ♬ original sound – Justice Z
In the 22-second viral video, Justice Z explains, “I was today years old when a lovely black woman taught me that twist ties are codes for the different days that bread was delivered.”
When buying bread at the grocery store, the bread is often packaged in a plastic wrap that is held together by a twist tie. These twist ties tend to come in a variety of colors. Justice Z suggests that these colors have meaning, and signify when the bread was delivered to the store.
In the video, Justice Z picks up a loaf of bread with a white twist tie and says, “white is delivered on Friday.” She then picks up a loaf of bread with a yellow twist tie and explains, “Yellow is delivered on Saturdays. Today is Sunday, so I’m getting a yellow twist tie bread.”
When asked about this revelation, Justice Z shared in an email to the Daily Dot, “My mind is blown and now I’m less stressed when buying some things at the grocery store.”
The video has 900,000 views and hundreds of comments as of Monday.
Many viewers were surprised by Justice Z’s tip.
“Not me working at a grocery store and not knowing this,” one commented.
Other viewers co-signed the hack. “I worked in a restaurant, I learned that so we knew which ties to use first,” one shared.
Another expanded on Justice Z’s information, providing the whole spectrum of colors and their corresponding delivery dates, “Blue = Monday; Green = Tuesday; Red = Thursday; White = Friday; Yellow = Saturday.”
However, some viewers were skeptical, questioning how accurately the color of the ties correlates with the freshness of the bread or how recently it was delivered.
“What if it was [delivered] three Saturdays ago tho,” one asked. Another questioned, “Yeah but delivered where? To the distributor or to the actual store? Depends on how they get it delivered.”
Others disagreed with the hack, citing the expiration date as the true source of how fresh a loaf of bread is. “I’m confused, why does that matter if they all have expiration dates?” one shared.
Folks who have worked in grocery stores also shared their insight. “Worked at Walmart..them tags don’t matter. Food stays in the back for WEEKS. Literally just look at the date because the food doesn’t go out Immediately.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Justice Z (@ztheeunicorn) via email.