Re: [MATHEDCC] the "potato salad problem" -- reality check

Bret Taylor (bret@IAG.NET)
Wed, 9 Apr 1997 20:35:35 -0400 (EDT)

At 03:30 PM 4/9/97 -0400, you wrote:
>On Wed, 9 Apr 1997, Laura Petersen wrote:
>As a matter of practicality, how much money do you suppose supermarkets
>are making off of all those little water droplets sticking to our
>lettuce/green onions or whatever. At 8 pounds a gallon, it seems that
>the product with the highest profit margin in the veggie section is
>probably water. This, of course, is in addition to the savings due to
>decreased spoilage. Suddenly, hdyration is a very relevant problem for
>grocery store manager!
>
>Brian Goetz
>-Bay de Noc Community College
>
Another way in which we are being "charged" for 'non-merchandise' (noticed
by my dad, an effeciency expert) is when meat is packaged it is weighed
AFTER it is packaged, so we are paying price per pound for the paper tray
and plastic wrapping. An interesting question, to which I have no idea of
the answer, would be: Which costs the store more, ground beef or the
packaging it comes in? (If it is the packaging, which I seriously doubt, we
are getting a deal!!)

>
>
>> Perhaps the potato salad problem is not realistic but the problem of
>> dehydration certainly is. Pricing of produce per pound is done to provide a
>> profit margin that will account for spoilage and for loss of water
>> weight. This is a particularly significant problem for oranges which are
>> normally not kept in the "shower" section of the produce department. What
>> I have heard is that most produce managers have a chart that they use to
>> calculate the retail price depending on a number of factors for their
>> individual store but I haven't had a chance yet to verify that or find
>> the chart and figure out the math underneath it.
>>
>> --Laura
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------
>> Laura Bracken Petersen petersen@lcsc.edu
>>
>> Division of Natural Sciences PHONE 208-799-2484
>> Lewis-Clark State College FAX 208-799-2064
>> 500 8th Avenue
>> Lewiston ID 83501-2698 USA
>> -------------------------------------------------------------
>>
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Bret Taylor Lake-Sumter Community College Leesburg FL

"It matters not the subject taught, nor all the books on all the shelves.
What matters more, yes most of all, is what the teachers are themselves."
John Wooden

John 3: 3^3 + 3

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