Right or wrong - online butcher

ivrytwr3

ivrytwr3

ivrytwr3

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First world problems i know ;)

We've bought from the same online butcher (Donald Russell) for several years and never had any issues. On this occasion, we spent just under £100 and several of the packs of meat/ready meals were dated as, 'frozen Aug 22' and 'Best Before Aug 23' - as the items arrived 17 Mar 23, the Best Before is approx 4/5 months away, losing 7 months of use (we get them frozen as we would eat/use throughout the year). Most of the items in the order arrived with Best Befores of 2024.

To me this was an issue, so i contacted customer service, who firstly wanted photos of the items i was referring to and then said as the items still had 'several' months of use left, they are not short-dated and therefore, sorry, not sorry.

We've not had this before with them, so not sure if this is normal business or they have just unloaded older stock onto us :(
 
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Why a bunch of baloney, whoever you spoke to at customer services sounds like a right sausage. I can definitely see why you have a beef with them, perhaps as you said they're sending old stock that previously wouldn't have made the cut? How offal, my blood would boil if I was skinned like that. Might be a bit pie in the sky but have you thought of trying to get hold of a boss's email and escalating it? Even better if you can find another unhappy customer to make a joint complaint. You never know, they might throw you a bone and save your bacon. Don't think too hard about what to say, just wing it, and don't forget to post updates so we can keep abreast of the situation.
 
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Iamzod said:
There is something about frozen meat that just doesn't work for me, Chicken is the worst

It seems to do something to the texture.
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Their frozen food is fantastic - regularly buy from them. However, we have tried a frozen meal from them that got stuck at the back of the freezer and forgotten about and was past the bb date - it wasn't good.
 
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builder22 said:
I thought frozen stuff lasts forever??

anyway - looks like they 'freeze your order' rather than selling frozen stuff so yeah - wouldn't be happy either
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In theory, but it loses its quality due to things like freezer burn.

Frankly I'd go back and complain and say if you were buying run of the mill frozen produce from Iceland and it only had a couple of months left you'd let it slide. But if you're buying from a premium butcher then you'd expect the quality/duration of the product to last much longer.

I'd also add in the bit about being a customer for several years and have never previously had a bad experience, so if this is the direction the business is moving towards then you'll take your custom elsewhere.
 
Used them several times and dates are normally good, they aren’t cheap so I don’t think I’d be happy buying “premium” meals that are already 6 months frozen.
I’m not sure if I’m being realistic but I kind of thought they were almost made to order, maybe I’m being naive. August 22 seems a long time to hold on to stock to me.
 
Tricky.

I agree it is not ideal, but at the same time, if they have not explicitly stated how much shelf life products will have when buying from them, there is little they have done wrong.

I'm not sure what would be deemed a reasonable shelf life on such a frozen product to be honest.
 
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From their own website:

Most foods, particularly raw cuts of beef like steaks, will not instantly become unsafe to eat after the ‘best before’ date, but they may start to deteriorate a little in quality – for instance, the flavour and texture may not be at their optimum.

Goods may have to be returned by the Buyer to the Supplier within the best before date or use by date on the product.
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Mmmmm, think i may go back to them - i'm not happy tbh.
 
Zefan said:
Why a bunch of baloney, whoever you spoke to at customer services sounds like a right sausage. I can definitely see why you have a beef with them, perhaps as you said they're sending old stock that previously wouldn't have made the cut? How offal, my blood would boil if I was skinned like that. Might be a bit pie in the sky but have you thought of trying to get hold of a boss's email and escalating it? Even better if you can find another unhappy customer to make a joint complaint. You never know, they might throw you a bone and save your bacon. Don't think too hard about what to say, just wing it, and don't forget to post updates so we can keep abreast of the situation.
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brendy said:
If you're likely to eat it inside the date, I don't see a problem, if you want fresh, buy local.
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The items were intended to be used over the course of this year, not within 4 months.

Also, i don't want fresh - i'm a **** cook, so when the Mrs doesn't fancy cooking, the DR stuff comes out which i can just chuck in a oven.
 
think I'd just ask for a voucher/credit with a bit off of subsequent order -
but unless it's something that would deteriorate - bacon/pork fat is the classic I thought, because it doesn't freeze, goes rancid ? wouldn't worry me, as said.

Am more concerned for such places as to how well they manage to preserve cold chain getting it to you, even it is was professionally blast frozen/stored.
 
I went back to them and they've apologised, added a note that future orders will have longer life when sent to me, nothing else.

I won't be closing my account as we enjoy their products, but I'll be taking a break from them whilst also looking for an alternative supplier.
 
@ivrytwr3 I can sort of see both sides here, you're usually getting stuff that has only recently been frozen and that's great but if they're not actually promising that and it's just something you've gotten used to and relied on then it's not necessarily their fault, they're not going to want to throw away meat that has several months left.

I guess it does make sens for some bulk orders to give people the longest timeframe possible perhaps and good for them to have resolved it, I guess a few moths would be fine for some other customers but not someone in your situation bulk buying for the whole year.

builder22 said:
I thought frozen stuff lasts forever??
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Bacteria won't grow on it but it can still deteriorate from freezer burn/go bad... may well still be safe to eat though.

Iamzod said:
There is something about frozen meat that just doesn't work for me, Chicken is the worst.
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Lots of cooled/seemingly fresh meat in supermarkets was actually previously frozen before being defrosted and put on shelves. I mean that's how we end up with say New Zealand Lamb etc.

I think perhaps buying stuff frozen from a butcher which has been frozen in some industrial freezer and keeping it frozen at home is perhaps a bit different here to buying cooled meat from the supermarket (which may well have been frozen and defrosted previously) and then re-freezing it at home again in a domestic freezer.

By the time that's been defrosted for a second time, weeks or months after being chucked into a little freezer bag then yeah it may well have a noticeable difference.
 
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builder22 said:
I thought frozen stuff lasts forever??
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Not necessarily bacterial growth is arrested but anything fresh and that includes meat will have I believe enzymes that will break down the material over time this can be stopped by heat treatment i.e. blanching or cooking but then its no longer fresh food its cooked. I've eaten frozen stuff thats been sitting in teh freezer too long and while its probably safe to eat from a biological POV it tastes distinctly weird and definitely past its best
 
ivrytwr3 said:
I went back to them and they've apologised, added a note that future orders will have longer life when sent to me, nothing else.

I won't be closing my account as we enjoy their products, but I'll be taking a break from them whilst also looking for an alternative supplier.
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Out of curiosity did you figure out an alternate supplier?
 
R.O.S.S.I said:
Out of curiosity did you figure out an alternate supplier?
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Not yet, but haven't really looked; we still have a freezer full of stuff that will last us until Jul/Aug 23 time.

Donald Russell keep sending me emails asking me to do a survey of their products, my orders etc - so i am having fun filling those in atm :)
 
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