Supermarket Sell by dates

I munched a Muller "Crunch Corner" a few days ago, after eating it I noticed its sell by date was 05/08 surprise surprise, it tasted fine & did not kill me...... (yet!)
 
UFX said:
... or even better I'll join the dole que so I have time to sort through the shelves before putting in in the trolley.
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Ahh another man who is FAR too busy in life to use some simple common sense, that would add a grand total of around 5 minutes to his shopping time. Jaysus.
 
UFX said:
Why is it every week within 2 days I'm having to throw out food, today we binned Scones, muffins, bread & crumpets despite only buying them 2 days ago & this isn't a one off, its every time within a few days of doing a large shop.
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Usually the use-by dates are deliberately exaggerated to cover the manufacturer against legal action (ie. if you happen to die from a stuffed olive that's a few hours out of date). So they can be safely ignored to a large extent.

However, supermarket bread is a very different matter. If the stuff is made in store, it will have a very short shelf life at home. This is because supermarket pastry products are a mixture of (a) factory prepared pre-frozen items that only need to be finished off in store, and (b) push-button bread that is made in an unnaturally short period of time from largely artificial pre-packaged ingredients. The bread breaks down quickly because it lacks the properties of natural bread that would allow it to last longer.

Bread from outside manufacturers (such as the sliced loaves from Warburtons, Kingsmill etc. that you see in supermarket shelves) are packed with crumb-softening enzymes to preserve the appearance of freshness by ensuring a soft texture. While it may still feel soft after 5 days or even a week, it will definitely be stale by that time.

Supermarkets are scum, and they sell junk.
 
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Evangelion said:
Supermarkets are scum, and they sell junk.
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Well, they sell what is possible at the price point of the product. I'm quite happy for people to buy everything at supermarkets; myself, I'll yes, of course do most of my shopping there, but for specialist items / times I want decent food, I'll buy it from an independent/specialist place, which of course costs more because you get what you pay for :)

eg there's a market in town every other weekend and the food is awesome :cool:
 
They check dates and reduce the products.
If it aint nearing sell by they have no obligation to reduce therefore it's up to you mate.

But then again, supermarkets, suck.
I prefer little shops.
 
Beansprout said:
Well, they sell what is possible at the price point of the product. I'm quite happy for people to buy everything at supermarkets; myself, I'll yes, of course do most of my shopping there, but for specialist items / times I want decent food, I'll buy it from an independent/specialist place, which of course costs more because you get what you pay for :)

eg there's a market in town every other weekend and the food is awesome :cool:
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OK, not everything they sell is junk, but a lot of it is. :p

I am very keen on supporting independent traders, especially the small retailers. My wife and I buy groceries at the local farm shop; for anything else, we use the Co-Op. :)
 
arknor said:
are the tiger paw buns/bread in asda fresh? or "baked" from frozen? anyone know about morrisons to?

you can eat most tinned foods years after the best before date, they wont taste as good as they once did but they wont harm you either.
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The tiger paws are baked fresh everyday (with no exceptions). Curiously some ASDA bakeries have started baking their French sticks from frozen as well (and they just aren't the same). It's only a few though.

I only left ASDA a week ago. :p

I don't get all the hate for supermarkets anyway - sure they are ultimately ******** who will do anything for money but it's not like they can force you to shop there. They are no worse than any other major industry for overinflated prices.
 
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Yeah the tiger Paws a baked fresh everyday, But the bulk of the production is done the day before and put into the retarder(a controlled environment chiller) for the next morning.

I think tiger paws are better made the day before and chilled as the paste has time to soak into the dough, If it's made from scratch that day it just doesn't look the same.
 
People would complain more if they were putting too much date on items so people were becoming ill after eating off food :rolleyes:
 
bakery item foods dont last long in open air hence why people freeze bread or it gathers mould and rots. food generally isnt meant to last longer than a week in open air - bacteria has its way with them.
 
supermarkets seem to be getting worse for sell by dates ive found, in this area at least. my local tesco is awful for it - your lucky if you can find anything on the shelf (fresh produce- meat, fruit, fish, veg and the like) that has more than 3 days on it. i cant do a weeks shop if the stuff only lasts 3 days! and yes i dont mind eating stuff after the date but the food isnt exacty top notch any way. im a single guy living on my own so i dont get through that much food in a week. its a pain in the arse tbh.
 
The only date you should worry about is Use By. You should not eat food after it's Use By date, food beyond it's Sell By or Best Before is perfectly ok to eat after that date.
 
It's certainly in the supermarkets interest to ensure that they don't sell out of date produce, as they can be fined up to £5,000 per item by trading standards if any out of date items are found on shelves.
 
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