Walmart worker tests the meat in store and discovers something customers need to know

A Walmart employee decided to check the temperature of refrigerated meat products in their store and found a serious problem. The meat was staying at unsafe temperatures that could make customers sick. This worker used a meat thermometer to test items like turkey wings, sausages, pork, and ham. They checked the temperatures several times over two days to make sure their readings were correct.

According to Bro Bible, meat needs to stay below 40 degrees Fahrenheit to be safe. When the temperature goes between 40 and 140 degrees, it enters what experts call the “danger zone.” In this range, harmful bacteria grow quickly and can cause serious illness. The worker found that the meat in their store was consistently sitting above the safe temperature limit.

For example, Italian sausages started at 43.9 degrees. Two hours later, they reached 44.5 degrees. After another two hours, the temperature climbed to 46.7 degrees. This is far too warm and puts shoppers at risk of getting sick from bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella.

The store’s broken cooling system created a health hazard

The worker shared their findings on Reddit and explained that they had told management about the problem multiple times. However, nobody wanted to fix it. The cooling unit for the meat display wasn’t working properly. The worker said they pointed out the issue many times, but management did nothing.

“What do yall think of this? Am I being overly cautious here??” they asked the community.

The display showed a temperature of 30 degrees, but this reading was wrong. The worker noticed that even when the cooling units completely stopped working, the gauge didn’t change at all. This means the thermometer was useless and couldn’t be trusted. This isn’t the first time Walmart’s business practices have raised concerns among shoppers and employees.

Bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli can grow on warm meat and cause serious food poisoning. Salmonella kills about 420 people in the United States each year. E. coli causes around 100 deaths annually. When meat sits above 40 degrees, the risk of these dangerous bacteria increases significantly.

Other Reddit users told the worker to contact the health department immediately. One person said the health department would force the store to fix the problem faster than corporate would. Another warned that a lawsuit from sick customers would cost much more than fixing the broken refrigerator.

One user, however, wanted to know whether the thermometer was probably calibrated or not, as it could yield false results.

“Probe thermometers often times suck at being accurate, were those correctly calibrated recently using ice water?” they wrote.

Other Walmart workers responded with similar stories. One mentioned a meat and cheese display that reached 69 degrees, but management refused to remove the products. Another employee found steak that was two days past its expiration date.

Instead of throwing it away, a team lead put new date stickers on it and sold it anyway. These stories show this problem may be happening at multiple locations. Some shoppers have also discovered shocking product quality issues that make them question what they’re buying.