AVOID Buying These 2 Types of Garlic in the Grocery Store — They Can Harm Your Health!

Garlic is one of the cleanest, healthiest ingredients you can use in your kitchen. But not every garlic product on the shelf is safe. Some forms are stored incorrectly, processed poorly, or simply too risky for regular consumption.

Here are the two types of garlic you should avoid, based on real, verifiable food-safety concerns — no myths, no exaggerations.

1. Pre-Peeled Garlic Stored in Oil (High Botulism Risk)

This is the most dangerous form of garlic commonly sold.

When garlic is pre-peeled and packed in oil without proper acidity, it creates ideal conditions for Clostridium botulinum — the bacteria responsible for botulism, a rare but life-threatening type of food poisoning.

Why it’s truly dangerous

Garlic is low-acid.
Oil blocks oxygen.
Together, they make a perfect environment for deadly bacteria to grow if not handled correctly.

Food-safety authorities have confirmed that garlic-in-oil mixtures must be properly acidified or kept refrigerated at all times to prevent botulism.

Avoid products that:

Sit on the shelf at room temperature
Are unlabeled regarding acidification
Look cloudy, bubbly, or fermented

If it’s garlic + oil and not refrigerated with safety labeling, skip it.

2. Moldy, Soft, or Sprouting Garlic (Signs of Spoilage)

It may look harmless, but spoiled garlic can contain fungi, bacteria, and mycotoxins.

Warning signs your garlic is unsafe:

Soft or mushy cloves
Green, black, or white fuzzy mold
Damp or sticky skins
Sour, fermented, or “off” smell
Excessively sprouted cloves (a sign of age and moisture)

Moldy garlic has a higher risk of contamination, and sprouting often signals breakdown and spoilage. While not all sprouted garlic is toxic, it is lower quality and more prone to harmful growth, making it best to avoid.