A customer at Albertsons has gone viral after exposing a shocking amount of black and brown mold festering right beneath the store’s chilled produce, claiming this disgusting discovery is the reason for his weeks-long cough. This is genuinely horrific because you absolutely rely on grocery stores to keep things clean, especially in the areas where your fresh food is stored.
TikToker Scooter The Explorer (@hoodtravelguide) posted the video, which has already racked up over 1.5 million views. The video shows him walking up to the refrigerated produce section, specifically noticing an empty bay right next to the broccoli display. “Look what’s under it,” he says, lifting the cover and revealing a thick layer of black and brown sludge that looks exactly like mold.
The sheer amount of gunk is unsettling. Scooter The Explorer immediately points out that the real danger lies in the shelf’s mechanics. There’s a fan located at the bottom of the unit, and he suggests that this fan could be blowing mold spores and “moldy water” directly onto the fresh vegetables sitting above it. “Moldy water all on your [expletive],” he remarks in the video. “Rinse you down with the mold water. That’s horrible.”
This is gross malpractice by Albertsons and a threat to public health
This isn’t just a gross aesthetic issue, either. The United States Department of Agriculture, or USDA, has confirmed that mold on produce can absolutely cause respiratory issues if people inhale the spores. That’s why the USDA officially advises consumers against buying any products that have been exposed to mold.
The TikToker believes he is already experiencing the negative health consequences of shopping there. At the end of the clip, he coughs, and the accompanying caption makes his connection clear: “I’m just trying bring awareness and no surprise I’m sick this where I been buying veggies at.” It’s a terrible thought that buying what you think is healthy food might actually be making you sick.
It really puts the store’s negligence into sharp focus when you hear how other grocery chains handle this. A commenter, who works at Whole Foods, shared that their department has one dedicated employee whose sole responsibility is cleaning the undercarriages of these units. “We don’t play around with this stuff in our store at Whole Foods,” they stated, which just goes to show this level of cleanliness is achievable, and frankly, expected.
The lesson here is clear: you need to be careful where you buy your produce, especially if the store isn’t keeping up with essential deep cleaning. While not a grocery store, Krispy Kreme came under scrutiny for a similar issue in recent times. And talking about moldy food, McDonald’s goes to the other end of the spectrum, and you should keep an eye out for that too.
Published: Dec 5, 2025 03:00 pm