– This is so rude! People need to sharpen up. It’s just strawberries. But that does not surprise me. People snack on sweets and almonds and so on, says Trine Marie Gjertsen. – But you have never moved strawberries from one basket to another? – No. I’ve done a lot of other weird things, but I have not done that, haha! Summer is strawberry time. The red, swollen berries, rich in vitamins C and potassium, are now lying and offering themselves as best they can from baskets across the pretty country. Trine Marie Gjertsen thinks it is rude for people to take off their lids to secure even more berries. Photo: Dana Khalouf / news Some of the baskets may contain more or fewer berries. Possibly also a few bigger and juicier. Is it okay to move someone from one to the other? Securing a fuller basket simply? Do you think it’s ok to add berries from one basket to another? Yes, I really have no problem doing that. No! It is morally reprehensible. Once in a while maybe? Of course! It’s just strawberries. Not the end of the world exactly. Show result Discovered at checkout – Three out of ten do it. This is not a problem only here with us, but in all stores, claims store manager Siyamak Nemati at Kiwi XL on Strømsø in Drammen. It was Drammens Tidende that first mentioned the case. To prevent this, one of the suppliers, Bama, has now started with plastic lids on the strawberry baskets. Without it having helped significantly. Store manager Siyamak Nemati says they spot many strawberry thieves daily. Photo: Dana Khalouf / news – People take off the lid and move over berries anyway, says Nemati and continues: – But it is discovered at checkout, on the scales. The baskets, which initially contain 400 grams of strawberries, can quickly weigh both 500 and 600 grams after cheating has driven self-picking and short-distance movement of berries. Conversely, some ignorant people buy strawberry baskets for maybe only 200 or 300 grams. – Are you saying goodbye at the checkout? – Yes. We try to say it in a nice way. Some people get angry and yell at us at the checkout. Some say “Oops! I did not know that”. So yes, they are revealed at checkout, Nemati answers. – I have never moved strawberries to another basket, so I am not slippery, says Stein Ellingsen. Photo: Dana Khalouf / news Leads to more food waste – The strawberry baskets have plastic lids to ensure that everyone gets the amount of berries they pay for. There can otherwise be many half-empty baskets that no one wants to buy, and which thus lead to food waste. This is what Bama’s communications director, Pia Gulbrandsen, tells news. Pia Gulbrandsen, communications director at Bama. Photo: BAMA group – Why do you not switch to kilo price, so you avoid the problem of people moving strawberries over? – The lids ensure that the berries maintain good quality for as long as possible, and contribute to less food waste, says Gulbrandsen. Even after the lids came in place, about 30 percent of us are still “strawberry thieves.” With artistic effort, berries are lured and rolled from one basket to the other. – You should not have guards lurking in the fruit area? – No no. We do not spend much time and energy on this. We can only take that waste. We do that, says store manager Nemati. He hopes that people themselves realize that this is not okay. – This is not the most dangerous lie Understandably, it takes a long time to admit a little sniffing, if it is about something as innocent as sweet, small strawberries. – No, I’ve never done that. Have never thought about it once, but … it sounded very clever, says Ola Ola Sørensen and laughs. Ola Ola Sørensen got an idea from news … (unfortunately). Photo: Dana Khalouf / news – Yes, I probably did, admits another smiling gentleman. His name is Tore Fyrand, he stands by the strawberries and probes the red ones with a knowledgeable look before he grabs a basket. A basket that is not “fiddled and tampered with”, we must emphasize. – So you are not going to move over anyone now then? – Haha! Now you have to give up. No, I will not delete it. I go for that curve there, because it is closest, says Fyrand who makes the following confession: – It has been a long, long time since I have done that. But I realize more as I get older, hehe, that this is just nonsense. Right? Tore Fyrand admits it. He has snuck in some extra strawberries. Photo: Dana Khalouf / news – You are the first person we have spoken to who admits it. – People live on a lie, you know. This is not the most dangerous lie. But people are concerned about justice. There should be the same amount in the baskets. And then of course there is a way to get a little extra. But no, that’s not okay. It is not allowed, says the strawberry buyer.
ttn-69
Self-picking strawberries in the store is a big problem. The baskets are now equipped with lids. – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
