Online food races: labels, allergens and cold

1. Read the sheet as a label

For a prepackaged commodity, look for the sales name, list of ingredients, allergens highlighted, net quantity, storage conditions and nutritional information when they apply. The front picture does not replace this data and can show an old packaging. Check the exact format, number of units and origin when its indication is required. For a severe allergy or medical constraint, never deduct the absence of an ingredient from the visual alone.

• Accessible ingredients and allergens.
• Format and quantity confirmed.
• Conservation conditions identified.

2. Compare the complete basket

Compare the kilogram, litre or unit and add delivery, preparation and minimum order. A promotion on a large format is only useful if the product can be consumed or stored in good conditions. Read the substitution policy: global authorization, equivalent product, price cap or refusal. For a particular diet, automatic substitution can introduce an allergen, composition or a different quantity. Record sensitive references before validation.

• Comparative unit price.
• Integrated fee and minimum.
• Explicitly chosen substitute rule.

3. Control sensitive products as a priority

Upon arrival, make sure that the frozen products are still hard and that the chilled products are cold according to the manufacturer's instructions. An inflated, open, wet, heavily damaged packaging or a thawed product should be treated with caution. Distinguish the mandatory consumption deadline for highly perishable foods from the minimum durability date, which is mainly concerned with the preservation of qualities. Do not taste a suspicious product to decide whether it is safe.

• Frozen and chilled first.
• Distinguished DLC from DDM.
• Untapped dubious product isolated without tasting.

4. Documenting an error or a break in the cold

Photograph the product, its packaging, the date, lot and condition of the package as soon as you receive it. Compare the reference given to the summary and report an unauthorized substitution, an erroneous quantity or a clearly incompatible temperature. Keep the product separated as instructed by the seller when an examination is necessary, without compromising the safety of the home. For a health risk or recalled product, use the official devices and follow the destruction or return instructions.

• Lot, date and packaging photographed.
• Order and product close together.
• Official advice followed in case of recall.

Fictional example · No merchant prices

The available basket may cost more than planned

Fictional example: A delivers the same groceries for €45 plus €5 delivery, totalling €50. B charges €48 including delivery, but a missing item requires a €6 extra purchase, totalling €54. Without the missing item, B would cost €48. Compare what actually arrives, with suitable substitutions.

• Check quantities and allergens of delivered products.

Enter these items in the comparison tool