Out of date food in supermarkets

lemonade

lemonade

lemonade

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I'm not sure if I'm allowed to name these stores here if I'm not then apologies.

So around a week ago I bought some 6 pack fairy cakes from Tesco express, went home we ate them and then my sister points out they expired two days ago. Since it was just a £1 I didn't bother much.

Today bought some Mcvities biscuits, those new ones with the chocolate filling which was on offer at Waitrose for 73p, so I thought I'd try them out, go home and eat them, notice they taste a bit damp and have whitish marks on them, I look at the expiry date and it says 31st Dec 2011.

Ridiculous, thats two expired food being sold at two big name supermarkets. I was going to take the McVities biscuits back to Waitrose but I threw the receipt away :mad: will go into tomorrow and see if they are stocking any more out of date biscuits and have a chat.

Anyone else experienced anything similar or is it just me? Thats two food products within a week or so.
 
I've had out of date stuff from all the supermarkets except M&S, the worst i've see is Morrisons when I got home to find the chocolate I bought was months out of date.

I went back to the store (without my receipt) and complained, a member of staff walked with me to the chocolate where I pointed it out and the lot of them were out of date. Even thought they agreed that the chocolate had the same date and was likely from their shop they refused to swap or refund it as I had binned my receipt.

Raging I called the head office and they posted me money vouchers.
 
lookitsjonno said:
i always buy products from the back of the shelf so you get the new stuff, the bread best before for example can vary by 3 days
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Sometimes depends on the supermarket and their staff, if they are lazy they don't date rotate and just put the new stuff at the front.
 
I've seen it mainly in Tesco with the cottage cheese.

One at the front expired the day before yet the one at the back didn't expire to a good 2 weeks at least.
 
They tend to have a sell by date. Much more important in guidelines they should be following. Also you mentioned they were offer.

Are you sure this wasn't because they were out of date? Plenty of stores sell stuff out of date/close to sell by date on offer to shift it. Managed to pick up loaves of bread for like 5p before.

kd
 
I have never got anything out of date from the big tesco near me but I imagine that is due to its size and turn over, they do suffer from the whole get things from the back of the shelf for an extra 4 days shelf life however. Sainsburys seems to suffer a bit from selling the occasional out of date / same day expiry items in my experience.
 
i take u have never worked at a supermarket??

its unfortunate but stuff does get missed
 
King Damaeger - shops cannot sell stuff that's out of date, that's why they reduce things approaching sell by date.

Having worked in convenience store for a couple of years I can see how it gets missed not that it should
 
I bought some 6 pack fairy cakes from Tesco express, went home we ate them and then my sister points out they expired two days ago.
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2 whole days!? :eek:

Cupcakes from a box will be loaded with preservatives and will probably be good for months after the sell by date. I wouldn't worry about it unless you're really anal about such things and have a gaping hole in your life which you feel the need to fill by complaining about things. Like me! ;)
 
lemonade said:
Ridiculous, thats two expired food being sold at two big name supermarkets. I was going to take the McVities biscuits back to Waitrose but I threw the receipt away :mad: will go into tomorrow and see if they are stocking any more out of date biscuits and have a chat.
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Mistakes happen and it's all but impossible to ensure that every single item of stock is rotated correctly, but that's still no excuse. Have a quiet word with the Customer Services desk at the store and they'll handle your complaint in an appropriate manner. At the very least you'll get a refund and a free replacement - most stores will also give you a small voucher to use against a future purchase.

Way back when I worked in retail, it was a £1,000 fine per out-of-date item on the shelf and everyone was hugely attentive of correct stock rotation. Sure, the occasional thing slipped through, but on the whole it was very well handled.

Mad old tory said:
King Damaeger - shops cannot sell stuff that's out of date, that's why they reduce things approaching sell by date.
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Shops are allowed to sell products that are out of date, providing they do not pose a health risk and they are labelled as being past their expiry date.

You just cannot pass products off that are out of date as being within date.

Van Hellseek said:
Cupcakes from a box will be loaded with preservatives and will probably be good for months after the sell by date. I wouldn't worry about it unless you're really anal about such things and have a gaping hole in your life which you feel the need to fill by complaining about things. Like me! ;)
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It's hardly being 'anal' now, is it?
 
glitch said:
Have a quiet word with the Customer Services desk at the store and they'll handle your complaint in an appropriate manner. At the very least you'll get a refund and a free replacement
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That's not my experience with Morrisons when I tried to return a bar of chocolate that was MONTHS out of date, even though they agreed that it came from their store they refused to swap or refund it because I had binned the receipt, even after I had a word with the store manager they still refused.

They sent me money vouchers when I called their head office to complain.
 
jimmy321 said:
That's not my experience with Morrisons.
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I was referring to the McVitie biscuits and Waitrose, but your experience neatly sums up why I shop where I do.

I've never experienced anything but exceptional customer service from any of the branches I've shopped at - little things, perhaps, but it makes all the difference to me.
 
I worked at Kwik Save when I was student (this is back around 1994!) and looked after the fridges. The Manager would kick my ass if stock wasn't rotated properly (ie newest at the back).
 
The dates were for "Best before" so they are expired rather then sell before.

Van Hellseek said:
2 whole days!? :eek:

Cupcakes from a box will be loaded with preservatives and will probably be good for months after the sell by date. I wouldn't worry about it unless you're really anal about such things and have a gaping hole in your life which you feel the need to fill by complaining about things. Like me! ;)
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Lol yeh, I guess they were still okay as my sisters ate them regardless :D and they didnt get any stomach problems, didn't bother complaining but it's really about the principles, the cakes could have gone off badly and anyone could have ate them without noticing and then end up in Hospital with a very bad stomach ache, slight exaggeration but you get the point.

Mistakes happen and it's all but impossible to ensure that every single item of stock is rotated correctly, but that's still no excuse. Have a quiet word with the Customer Services desk at the store and they'll handle your complaint in an appropriate manner. At the very least you'll get a refund and a free replacement - most stores will also give you a small voucher to use against a future purchase.
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True, but someone must have known about them as I picked them up from the front of the shelf and they were on offer. Probably too late now to complain, I'l just have to be more observant when shopping food now. I fail getting stung twice within a week or so, :o
 
lemonade said:
True, but someone must have known about them as I picked them up from the front of the shelf and they were on offer. Probably too late now to complain, I'l just have to be more observant when shopping food now. I fail getting stung twice within a week or so, :o
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You shouldn't necessarily need your receipt with Waitrose; just the product itself.

Take it to the Customer Services desk, explain the problem in a calm and concise manner and express your disappointment. They will take you seriously if you act rationally.
 
The actual food itself will usually be fine after the sell by date and use by date (unless it's chicken or fish). Supermarkets are really cautious about the dates on their food, but obviously mistakes are made.
 
Report them to Trading Standards. They will then go into the store and complete spot checks, to see if they are selling out of date food. If so big penalty/fine.
 
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