Why You Might Want To Avoid Buying Fresh Produce At Sam's Club - Tasting Table

"Shopping at Sam's Club can save you money because you can buy inexpensive multi-packs of your favorite products. Unfortunately, produce is one food you should think twice about buying in bulk at your local club. If you don't have immediate plans for the entire package of fruit or vegetables, you risk that at least some of it will go bad before you get around to eating it. The risk is even higher if the produce wasn't that fresh to begin with."

"In a July 2025 post in a Sam's Club thread on Reddit, some asked, "Anyone getting bad quality produce lately?," and an employee responded, "Yes, the quality of stuff we've been getting has gone downhill the last [six] months or so." Customers quickly chimed in, saying that their produce purchases were moldy and rotten within two days of buying, or that they found rotten produce hidden inside packages."

"On Facebook, around the same time, a shopper asked, "Has anyone else been noticing that produce from Sam's Club or Walmart has been rotten really fast or even before you get to use it?" And in a different July 2025 post on Facebook, a customer who had recently shopped at Sam's Club said, "Most of [its] produce was rotten." Both posts received multiple comments from other shoppers agreeing that Sam's Club's produce quality had declined and that produce from other supermarkets seemed to stay fresher longer."

Sam's Club produce quality and freshness have declined, with shoppers reporting that fruits and vegetables are moldy or rotten shortly after purchase. Shoppers and employees posted on social media about parcels going bad within two days and finding rotten items hidden inside packages. Some customers compared Sam's Club unfavorably to other supermarkets where produce stays fresher longer. Low-quality produce deliveries contribute to the problem, and inadequate staffing means produce leads have less time to manage inventory, rotation, and quality control. Those combined factors increase the risk that bulk produce purchases will spoil before consumers can use them.

Read at Tasting Table