Would you trust dollar store ingredients?

[RomanAnthonysMama]

Okay...I have a confession to make...Earlier this week we ran out of sugar and flour. Being 9 months pregnant, I was totally NOT feeling going to the closest grocery store. The dollar store was right down the street though, so I headed on over, and bought some flour and sugar. I was wondering though...Are the products trustworthy? The expiration dates were fine, and they were actually name-brand, but I do sometimes worry since I've gotten some duds from dollar stores before. Have you ever bought ingredients from a dollar store?

 

[Nahum]

I will admit, I have picked up ingredients from Dollar Stores before. However, I generally avoid them as I've found expiration dates are hit and miss and the cleanliness of the stores are sometimes the same. Some of the big box or membership stores are at or lower cost than the aforementioned, so the economics works out.

P.S. Congratulations on the little one. My baby girl is one month old today, so know how exciting this time is.

 

[zlemune]

It depends, some stuff at those places is just label changes from trustworthy brands and so on. I tend to avoid anything from dodgy looking generic brands and stick to dry goods. Sugar is basically sugar.

 

[Soliloquy]

When it comes to buying ingredients, you have to wonder why are they selling it so cheap? Surely they're selling at a profit, so there must be some reason they obtained it cheaply. If it's imported from another country, that makes it even more suspicious because then they have to offset the extra shipping costs as well. Perhaps it's old, about to go bad, or has additives not approved for use here.

 

[jodiann12]

You can get good stuff at the dollar stores if you look hard enough, and you are very careful. You can also stick the name brands like you have done, but I am gradually finding out that some membership stores sell better stuff at a better price than the dollar stores.

 

[ACSAPA]

I've had decent results with ingredients from dollar stores. I wouldn't buy chocolate chips there because they have nasty "chocolate flavored" chips, but I've never had a problem with flour or sugar from the dollar store.

 

[OhioTom76]

Things like sugar, are exactly what I would buy from a dollar store, rather than paying full price for it at a major grocery store. Sugar is sugar (same goes for brown sugar). It's also likely manufactured by the same companies that make the product for the grocery stores too. A lot of products at Aldi, for example, are actually made by brand name manufacturers, but just given generic labels so as not to compete with their brands.

The only big things I've heard to not get from dollar stores would be stuff like mouth wash or tooth paste, since the flouride levels in them are much higher than what is needed in the US.

 

[zlemune]

Things like sugar, are exactly what I would buy from a dollar store, rather than paying full price for it at a major grocery store. Sugar is sugar (same goes for brown sugar). It's also likely manufactured by the same companies that make the product for the grocery stores too. A lot of products at Aldi, for example, are actually made by brand name manufacturers, but just given generic labels so as not to compete with their brands.

Huh, I didn't know that. I guess it makes sense, they're only going to be able to fill so much shelf space, so why not compete with yourself instead of an outside brand.

 

[Elizabeth]

I think the ingredients would be fine. A lot of the times the big name brand companies often make the knock off brands with there extras so you are probably getting exactly what you would at the store, and you saved money. I'm sure some products at the dollar store you might have to be careful about but flour and sugar should be fine.

 

[NThomas]

There is nothing wrong with dollar store ingredients. I have found brand name ingredients at Dollar Tree. Just make sure you check the expiration dates and you should be fine. Sometimes stores go out of bussiness and they sell off their stock to the dollar stores. Other times a company may change the package or size of the product and sell off the old sizes or packages to dollar stores.

 

[bakeryoo]

Here in the UK we have pound shops and they sell a lot of food cheaper than the supermarkets, I have bought baking products from them before and I had no problems

 

[Rosie327]

You are smart to pay attention to the expiration dates. Also, read over the ingredients and check the country of origin just to be safe. You can get good items there if you are careful. Congrats!

 

[Preya_M]

I usually don't go to the dollar store to purchase ingredients, unless it's a chocolate bar or candy that I want to add on my cupcakes and cakes (usually Cadbury and Hershey); other than that I don't think that I would. Agreed, checking the expiration date is a key idea. I don't think that the dollar store in my area sells sugar.

 

[themusicaldemocrat]

It just completely depends upon what you need. The dollar stores around here carry reputable brands and really aren't a whole lot cheaper than grocery stores. As others have said, check expiration dates, but I think you're fine. I tend to be a pretty trusting person though.

 

[Josie]

I wouldn't, no. Not in a snobbish way, but because I don't generally eat grocery store foods, let alone dollar store. I get most of my foods from farmers now, trying to stay away from big names and non-foods. Sad how we're not given a choice but to eat a certain way when we go to the grocery store. That needs to change, although I'm happy to give my business to those who deserve it. The food industry definitely needs to go back to the people.

 

[justusforus]

I tend not to buy any food stuff from the dollar store. In your case though you checked the expiration date and the brand. I do also as above check the country of origin if it is something I do want to buy. I have now exclusively changed all my shopping to a local Fresh and Easy Market where I get good products and value.

 

[Annette]

I don't mind buying from the dollar store. I get some good products from there. I find it not that much different from other stores. It's just a bit cheaper with some products. I check expiration dates on all my products no matter where I get them. I would rather be safe than sorry.

 

[JessiFox]

It all depends on what we're talking about...generally speaking I'd avoid getting most things there...I've had a lot more misses than hits in the few attempts I have made in the past. Sugar might be okay, though.

 

[OhioTom76]

Huh, I didn't know that. I guess it makes sense, they're only going to be able to fill so much shelf space, so why not compete with yourself instead of an outside brand.

I think some of it also has to do with the store not having to deal with coupons either though. You can't go "extreme couponing" in a store like Aldi with stuff for Duncan Hines, Velveeta and other brand coupons since they mainly just carry their own brand name stuff at their own fixed prices.

 

[TheViper]

The dollar store ingredients aren't something that should cause concern. I find that a lot of the stuff they have is generally the same thing as name brand. Though, I don't understand how they sell their items so cheap myself.