Can Walmart safely deliver groceries by pickup at 40°C?

A Walmart grocery delivery left a customer enraged when she discovered that her groceries had allegedly been transported in the back of a pickup truck on a scorching hot day.

In a viral TikTok video that has garnered over 1.2 million views, TikTok user Breanna Iglesias (@breannaanicole_) called the delivery service and claimed her groceries had arrived warm and possibly unsafe for consumption.

“I’m really annoyed right now. I don’t know if I can keep this food,” Iglesias begins her video, standing behind a kitchen counter covered with the recently delivered groceries.

“The cheese is hot”

Iglesias explains that while she has used Walmart’s grocery delivery service before, this is the first time she has encountered such a problem. According to Iglesias, her home’s security cameras captured footage of the delivery driver transporting the groceries in a pickup truck.

“She could have easily put the groceries in the back seat, but she decided against it and put them in her bed. It’s 40 degrees at our house today,” explains Iglesias.

In the video, Iglesias examines various products, including cheese, bread, milk and meat products, all of which she says feel warm to the touch. “The cheese is hot,” she notes, adding, “You could see the condensation in the bread, from the sun, for example.”

What was particularly worrying for Iglesias was the condition of the perishable food. “This is milk and milk is not cold. So when you touch it, it is not cold. So I will not give it to my children,” she explains.

The TikToker lists other items that are affected by the heat, including bacon, chorizo ​​sausages and whipped cream. “It almost looks like it’s been seared a little bit, so it grossed me out,” she says of the chorizo ​​sausages.

Iglesias expressed her intention to contact Walmart about the incident, stating, “I don’t think I even want the stuff because I don’t want anyone in my family to get food poisoning.”

Walmart customers speak out

Since uploading, the video has received over 1,000 comments, with many users offering advice.

One commenter suggested, “You should place a Walmart pickup order. You don’t have to get out of your car, just park and they’ll bring you all your groceries in the trunk.”

Another user claiming to be a delivery driver chimed in: “As a Spark driver they know better and they should have been in insulated bags otherwise you will definitely get your money back.”

However, one commenter claimed that even pickup orders aren’t without issues. “I have to call customer service every time I pick something up at Walmart because they forget at least 5 things,” one user shared.

How dangerous is this really?

Food safety experts advise against eating perishable foods that have been exposed to high temperatures for long periods of time. According to the USDA, the “danger zone” for bacterial growth in food is between 4°C and 60°C.

When perishable foods such as dairy, meat and certain produce are stored in this temperature range for more than two hours (or just one hour if the temperature is above 32 °C (90 °F)), they can become breeding grounds for harmful bacteria.

@breannaanicole_ This is the first time my Walmart delivery has arrived like this and it is such a waste. I ended up throwing all the food away because I didn’t want to risk anyone getting sick. #walmartdelivery #walmartgrocery #groceryhaul #grocerydelivery #walmart #familyof5 #toddlerlife #boymom #momstruggles #girlmom #motherhood #momlife #momtiktok #momtok #motherhoodjourney #toddlertiktok #toddlermom #toddlersoftiktok #MomsofTikTok #mommy #momof3 #realmom #realisticmomlife #soloparent #youngmom #2under2 #sahm #fyp #foryou #foryoupage ♬ Originalton – Breanna Iglesias

Since the original TikTok, Iglesias uploaded a follow-up video announcing that Walmart refunded her the full amount of her order.

The Daily Dot contacted Breanna Iglesias via email and Walmart via its media relations contact form.

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