This is a review of supermarkets, but with regards to the independent grocers I always assumed it was related to quality. The bagged fruits and vegetables tend to be older or less ripe.

I's thinking for pre-packaged, as in before it gets to the store, it'd be a difference in handling and shelf stocking at the store level.

And plastic would protect from bugs, and humans doing things to the fruit and veg that they don't actually buy. I's told by a friend that people will stick their nails into apples, piercing the skin, as some kind of subtle test of the fruit. Maybe thats part of it.

But i dont know. Maybe the grocery stores think think the plastic makes it last longer. Until i read this article last night i thought that was the undisputed case.

i’ve always just assumed it’s a “buy 10 get a discount” situation… but yeah it’s pretty annoying

Pre-packaging moves a decent amount of spoilage from the shop to the customer. Nobody will want to choose the somewhat sad-looking fruit/veggie when they're loose, but they can easily be hidden in a bag of 10.