A baker from the United States has issued a crucial public health warning to UK shoppers about a widespread supermarket practice that could lead to severe food poisoning. Jess, who runs a cookie shop called Gingersnap Jess Cookies in Maryland, used TikTok to highlight an often-ignored detail in grocery store chillers and freezers.
What is the Supermarket 'Load Line'?
In her video, Jess explained the critical importance of the 'load line'. This is a food safety guideline, typically marked by a sticker or a physical line inside refrigerated display cases. Its purpose is to show where products should stop being stacked to allow for proper airflow and maintain a consistently safe temperature.
"Holiday season reminder to never buy anything outside the load lines of fridge cases in supermarkets. It's out of temperature and unsafe to eat," Jess wrote. She panned her camera across a supermarket section, clearly showing packages stacked above this safety marker.
Why Overloading Cases is a Major Risk
When staff overload cases, stacking products past the load line, they inadvertently block the cold air curtain. This disruption creates warm spots where bacteria can rapidly multiply, causing food to spoil long before its use-by date. Jess suggested this often happens when stores receive large deliveries and overfill displays to clear space in storage areas.
She advised shoppers: "Always check its placement against the load lines. Anything in front of or above the lines isn’t being kept to a safe temperature and could make your family sick."
Shoppers React with Alarm and Shared Experiences
The warning resonated deeply with viewers. Many commented that they had never heard of the load line before, but that the explanation made perfect sense. One user shared their habitual caution: "I always grab from as far back in the cooler as possible just to be safe."
Another recounted a personal ordeal: "I bought some breakfast sandwiches in one of those open chest style freezers and me and hubs got food poisoning. I suspect it was above that load line."
The PSA was echoed by another TikTok user, Kayla Krasnow from New York. In her own video, she expressed dismay after discovering how many frozen products in her local store were stacked above the load line. "BRB, only purchasing things from the back shelf or bottom of the freezer now," she captioned her clip, after moving packages aside to reveal the hidden safety line.
This simple visual check—looking for the load line before selecting chilled or frozen goods—could be a vital step in protecting your household from foodborne illness, especially during busy festive periods when supermarkets are most crowded and storage cases are frequently overfilled.
