Check Expiration dates on perishable items

[debodun]

When am I going to learn? I guess I trust the store to police their own merchandise. I bought some non-stick cooking spray and when I used it, it smelled rancid. This is why and it's being returned. Why would they keep something that's over 3 years past the ED?

 

[Disgustedman]

While working at Walmart deli, I quit counting the times that people (usually elderly) would bring us food that they found expired. I would always thank them and mark it for disposal.

Our manager thought we were whizzes who caught expired food and quickly removed it. I never told them the truth. We really didn't have the time.

 

[PeppermintPatty]

When am I going to learn? I guess I trust the store to police their own merchandise. I bought some non-stick cooking spray and when I used it, it smelled rancid. This is why and it's being returned. Why would they keep something 3 years over the ED?

View attachment 276713

They keep it so some unsuspecting customer like yourself buys it without looking. To be fair, I don’t check cooking spray oil for dates either but I WILL now.
It could have been an honest mistake though. Maybe a can that kept getting pushed to the back of the shelf.

 

[Tish]

In my Freezer, everything is marked but I still go through it and my pantry once a month.

 

[Nathan]

When am I going to learn? I guess I trust the store to police their own merchandise. I bought some non-stick cooking spray and when I used it, it smelled rancid. This is why and it's being returned. Why would they keep something 3 years over the ED?

December 1819...204 years old, yea I bet it might be a bit rancid.

 

[debodun]

I knew some joker would say that! I thought it meant Dec 18 2019. They didn't have aerosol cans back in 1819.

 

[CallMeKate]

View attachment 276723

December 1819...204 years old, yea I bet it might be a bit rancid.

That was my first thought, too.

 

[debodun]

One time I bought some fruit juice and the bagger at the checkout caught that it was well past the ED. At least one employee was on their toes. I've seen greenish-gray meat in the coolers.

 

[NorthernLight]

Usually I check it. But sometimes I don't, and sometimes I regret it.

Thanks for the reminder!

 

[squatting dog]

They get away with it because instead of using an "expiration date", they have a "use by date".
Use by date is a recommendation and therefore may not have gone by.
Sneaky, but, apparently legal.

 

[DebraMae]

I pick up my order and have been seeing this more often lately. Meat is what I am having a problem with.

 

[MissRJ]

Some retail stores do not check and remove expiring products.
I have recently learned that some non-food products have expiration or best use dates.

 

[Muskrat]

I have to say I use the old fashioned method of determining eatability. Taste and smell are biggies. Oils go rancid when the get hot…keep them refrigerated. Some things last forever. Meat will discolor under florescent lighting. Smell them!

 

[CeeCee]

I just wish they made it easier to find on the package and maybe more readable.

 

[Balzac]

My understanding of this (and I'm not sure if things are different from UK and USA) has always been that a 'Best Before ' date means that food is usually safe after the date but might no longer be *at its best* but a 'Use by' date means the item may definitely b be unsafe after the date. Use by dates are usually on milk and meat products. Especially with milk there can be a serious risk of things like listeria of you hang on to milk for too long -- even if the bottle has not been opened. Worryingly in my opinion that some UK supermarkets have advocated selling milk without a use by date. I'm avoiding that kind of thing at all costs!