Dollar Tree Shopper Finds Unusual Hillshire Snacking Small Plates

While grocery shopping, customers may notice an interesting item on the shelf before the store associate does.

From moldy muffins at Target to similar bacteria growing on deli meats at Walmart, eagle-eyed shoppers have long taken to TikTok to share less-than-appealing finds at their local retailers.

Just recently, a customer shopping at her local Dollar Tree showed us the difference between two Hillshire brand small snack plates filled with Italian dried salami.

In the video, the poster points out the difference between two supposedly identical plates: one contains red salami, the other a grey version of the cured sausage.

The difference is deeply concerning, TikTok user @datstwente_ said in a video that has been viewed more than 843,000 times on the platform.

“I came here and I looked down,” he says in the video. “And you can see it. Look at this, look at this. You know what? It’s gross, bro.”

In text overlaid on the video, the poster details that the Snack Plate’s packaging has a best-before date of August 2024, and that if stored properly, it shouldn’t spoil.

“Get a grip, Dollar Tree,” reads the text overlaid on the video. [because] The package says it’s valid until August 2024, but the package has never been opened. What a shame.”

The Daily Dot reached out to @datstwente_ through comments on the video and direct messages on TikTok, as well as to Dollar Tree via email.

according to United States Department of AgricultureMoldy foods should be disposed of gently and with some sort of covering to prevent the spores from spreading to other foods stored nearby. The snack plate in the photo was covered with plastic film, so it’s unclear whether it was actually moldy or simply rotted on the shelf.

Some viewers offered their own theories as to why the products had gone bad long before their expiration dates.

“Salami won’t spoil if kept refrigerated, but it will spoil if exposed to oxygen, so there’s a good chance there’s a hole in it somewhere,” one commenter wrote.

“They may not be expired, but there may be holes in the plastic or they may have been left out of the fridge for too long,” another person commented. “I won’t even buy the last one because I’m worried they might have been put back if they were left out.”

“My guess is it was probably left on the shelf overnight and someone put it back in the fridge to try and save it,” another user wrote.

Others said they had similar experiences where they had seen questionable foods at their local Dollar Tree, making them hesitant to purchase refrigerated foods.

“My Dollar Tree has pizza sauce that fizzes and puffs,” one commenter wrote.

“When I travel for work, I shop at Dollar Tree because my food bill is paid for anyway and I have money left over,” said a second. “The hot dogs I currently have (a lot of them) are expired and I’ve had to take them home twice.”

“Flavored milk drinks on the top shelf… I opened one and drank it in one go and it was hard,” commented another. “I choked really hard. It wasn’t even expired.”

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