Are consumers being taken for a ride?

Jamaica has changed in recent years.

There is a fast paced quality of life that has been introduced especially in urban areas.  People rush to and from their high pressure jobs and of course this frantic pace  has affected how some families enjoy mealtimes.

In many cases children are fed a diet high in fat and cholesterol as they frequent fast food establishments on the way home from school with their parents. Often they have no idea of what a home cooked meal looks like especially during the week.

Pre-Packaged Food

There are some working parents who do try to provide home cooked meals for their families but they are still faced with challenges.  The first problem is that they simply do not have the time to prepare their meals.

In order to reduce cooking time, consumers end up spending a lot more money for the ingredients needed for the meal.

For example, a few cloves of garlic normally retails at a supermarket for about $75.00 or for even less if they are purchased at a local market.  They usually only need to be removed form the skin and when peeled they are ready for use in the meal.

Imagine my surprise when I saw the same few cloves of garlic minus their skins, in a package being sold for $314.57 in a supermarket in Montego Bay!

Now I understand that this is a resort town and so will sport higher prices, but I was not aware that peeled garlic was worth so much!

A number of other items such as stripped callaloo and seasoned meat are gaining popularity with the young working class group as it saves time to have some of the preparation taken out of the meal making process.

My problem besides the much higher cost for those items, is the inherent issue with purchasing pre prepared items, and that is sacrificing flavour and nutrition just for a quick meal.

Often people don’t realize that some pre packaged meals are not often the best choice as I have had bitter callaloo which was advertised as supposedly ‘stripped’ and garlic once peeled tends to lose its flavour which will compromise the quality of the meal.

I think a better solution for busy consumers is to prepare meals on the weekend that can be stored and ready for reheating after work. If there is no time to cook the entire meals, meats can be seasoned before hand which will also save time and money!

So what’s your take? Let me hear from you!

Teri Ann Renee Paisley

Gleaner Online Writer

Tags: cost, meals