Foul odor greeted a shopper when she opened a chest freezer stocked with meat inside a well-known membership supermarket in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

“We all know the frozen meat they sell there is cheaper than that in wet markets. But rotten meat? Don’t they have quality control? Even animals wouldn’t eat that!” the source exclaimed.

The disgruntled customer added, “We’re paying and renewing our membership, and this is the kind of treatment we have to endure?”

This was not an isolated incident, the customer added. She recalled buying salted eggs from the same store in the past that also reeked of rot — clearly already spoiled but still displayed for sale.

Customers who attempt to return such items, she lamented, are met with more than inconvenience.

“They’ll replace it, sure — but never mind the gas or fare we spend going back. All we get is a polite smile and an insincere ‘sorry,’” she said.

The shopper also pointed out the store’s practice of marking down products nearing their expiration dates, such as milk and juices.

“Hotels and bakeshops can’t even give away bread or cake at the end of the day because it might cause food poisoning. So why the double standard?” she asked.

The Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Agriculture routinely inspect wet markets to check product quality and ensure compliance with suggested retail prices. But the source believes it’s time these agencies turned their attention to supermarkets as well, especially those selling imported frozen goods.

“They should conduct preemptive inspections, not wait until someone gets food poisoning or amoebiasis before acting,” she stressed.

The supermarket in question is an international chain.