Results 1 to 15 of 15

Thread: Selling food beyond its 'Best Before' date

  1. #1
    Taz
    Taz is offline
    Senior Member Taz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    London
    Posts
    2,117
    Thanks
    55
    Thanked
    26 times in 25 posts
    • Taz's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte Z270 HD3P
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core i5 7600K
      • Memory:
      • Corsair CMK16GX4M2B3200C16R Vengeance LPX 16 GB
      • Storage:
      • Samsung 960 EVO M.2-2280 500GB (PCIe) + 1TB Sandisk Ultra II SSD (SATA)
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Asus NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 OC
      • PSU:
      • Corsair CS550M 550W Hybrid
      • Case:
      • NZXT Source 340
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • 34" Asus Designo Curve MX34VQ UWQHD Monitor
      • Internet:
      • Virgin Media Vivid 200

    Selling food beyond its 'Best Before' date

    Are supermarkets allowed to sell foodstuffs that are beyond the 'Best Before' date?

    For example, a loaf of bread that has a Best Before date of 01-Jan-07 is still on the selves on 02-Jan-07.

  2. #2
    DR
    DR is online now
    on ye old ship HEXUS DR's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    HEXUS HQ, Elstree
    Posts
    13,411
    Thanks
    1,058
    Thanked
    831 times in 372 posts
    nope

  3. #3
    I am Domo-Kun, hear me Roooaaaarrrrrrr!!! uchiha_itachi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    アカツキ
    Posts
    511
    Thanks
    27
    Thanked
    5 times in 5 posts
    No they are definitely not allowed to do that. You could report the supermarket, and they could get fined about £5,000 for each item found past its use by date.

  4. #4
    Resident abit mourner BUFF's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Sunny Glasgow
    Posts
    8,067
    Thanks
    7
    Thanked
    181 times in 171 posts
    Quote Originally Posted by uchiha_itachi View Post
    No they are definitely not allowed to do that.
    wrong if it's "best before" & not "use by".
    http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/asksam/foo...rules/#A220030

    MSI P55-GD80, i5 750
    abit A-S78H, Phenom 9750,

    My HEXUS.trust abit forums

  5. #5
    Admin (Ret'd)
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Posts
    18,481
    Thanks
    1,016
    Thanked
    3,208 times in 2,281 posts
    Quote Originally Posted by BUFF View Post
    wrong if it's "best before" & not "use by".
    Quite right. 'best before' is about food quality, whereas 'use by' is about food safety, and usually applies to products that deteriorate rapidly, like meat, most dairy products, etc.

    It's not illegal to sell after a 'best before' date, though it'll usually be at a substantial discount. It is illegal to sell after the 'use by' date.

    Personally, I'm quite happy to use bread after the "best before" date, but I use it for toast, making croutons, bread pudding, etc. If I want a loaf for sandwiches, I want fresh simply because it tastes better.

  6. #6
    Taz
    Taz is offline
    Senior Member Taz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    London
    Posts
    2,117
    Thanks
    55
    Thanked
    26 times in 25 posts
    • Taz's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte Z270 HD3P
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core i5 7600K
      • Memory:
      • Corsair CMK16GX4M2B3200C16R Vengeance LPX 16 GB
      • Storage:
      • Samsung 960 EVO M.2-2280 500GB (PCIe) + 1TB Sandisk Ultra II SSD (SATA)
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Asus NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 OC
      • PSU:
      • Corsair CS550M 550W Hybrid
      • Case:
      • NZXT Source 340
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • 34" Asus Designo Curve MX34VQ UWQHD Monitor
      • Internet:
      • Virgin Media Vivid 200
    Thanks for all the information.

    I ordered my weekly shopping online from one of the major supermarkets and, unusually, the bread that they supplied was beyond its 'Best Before' date.

    I called their customer services and they immediately refunded the cost of the bread (which wasn't a big deal!) but, more importantly, they were going to contact the store and ensure that the manager speaks to the 'pickers' who do the shopping for online customers and ensure that products beyond their Best Before date are not picked.

    The overall online service from this particular supermarket is exceptional and on the very few occasions that I have had cause for complaint, their customer services people have been very courteous and offer refunds (and even refund the delivery fee) without any questions.

  7. #7
    Comfortably Numb directhex's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    /dev/urandom
    Posts
    17,074
    Thanks
    228
    Thanked
    1,027 times in 678 posts
    • directhex's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus ROG Strix B550-I Gaming
      • CPU:
      • Ryzen 5900x
      • Memory:
      • 64GB G.Skill Trident Z RGB
      • Storage:
      • 2TB Seagate Firecuda 520
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 XC3 Ultra
      • PSU:
      • EVGA SuperNOVA 850W G3
      • Case:
      • NZXT H210i
      • Operating System:
      • Ubuntu 20.04, Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • LG 34GN850
      • Internet:
      • FIOS
    Quote Originally Posted by Taz View Post
    Thanks for all the information.

    I ordered my weekly shopping online from one of the major supermarkets and, unusually, the bread that they supplied was beyond its 'Best Before' date.

    I called their customer services and they immediately refunded the cost of the bread (which wasn't a big deal!) but, more importantly, they were going to contact the store and ensure that the manager speaks to the 'pickers' who do the shopping for online customers and ensure that products beyond their Best Before date are not picked.

    The overall online service from this particular supermarket is exceptional and on the very few occasions that I have had cause for complaint, their customer services people have been very courteous and offer refunds (and even refund the delivery fee) without any questions.
    i think best practice is to name companies when praising them

    i've had a few screwups when ordering shopping online from asda, but never anything major, and they're always quick to come up with a solution (usually assorted refundage)

  8. #8
    Admin (Ret'd)
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Posts
    18,481
    Thanks
    1,016
    Thanked
    3,208 times in 2,281 posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Taz View Post
    ....

    The overall online service from this particular supermarket is exceptional and on the very few occasions that I have had cause for complaint, their customer services people have been very courteous and offer refunds (and even refund the delivery fee) without any questions.
    That speaks volumes. I've often felt that how a shop reacts to a customer service issue tells you far more about them than how often you get a customer service issue does. Any store can make the occasional goof, but prompt and effective action when they do makes all the difference in the world. That is what gets loyalty and repeat business from me.

    For instance, I've been buying my car hifi from the same shop for 30 years. I know I could knock prices down a bit by shopping around, or mail-order, but I know I'll be looked after if I have a problem with my usual place, and it's worth paying a bit over the odds for that assurance.

  9. #9
    HEXUS.social member
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Posts
    2,562
    Thanks
    102
    Thanked
    320 times in 213 posts
    I used to work at Asda on Produce at nights. I know most of the "pickers" worked the same shift (2200 - 0700) as me. The first job of the night was rotating the stock and taking off the out of date stuff. You might have been unlucky with the pickers getting the old stuff before they got taken off. However, the ones I worked with were sensible and would check the date, or wait until I got the new stuff out. Also, I seem to remember items with "Use By" dates got removed a day earlier than "Best Before" items.

  10. #10
    Goron goron Kumagoro's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    3,107
    Thanks
    37
    Thanked
    153 times in 126 posts
    Heres something you may not know, on bread the best before
    date sometimes has a (2) next to it this is what the display
    until date is. So best before 5/1/07 (2) means display until
    3/1/7

    I think you find that on hovis and kingsmill stuff.

  11. #11
    Senior Member JPreston's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Posts
    1,667
    Thanks
    5
    Thanked
    124 times in 74 posts
    It's all a conspiracy to get you to throw away food and buy more to replace it, and you can eat basically everything days past it's use-by date. We're rubbish at organising shopping trips/meals in so we always have to eat what is nearest to having to be thrown out, and everything is past date or just about to be

    Just use common sense; if milk smells bad it's off, meat gets a distinctive taste and texture once it's turned ('matured' if you're posh) but you don't necessarily even notice it if it isn't too long gone and it most likely won't harm you anyway (and if you've ever eaten a kebab or take-away then you have eaten faaaar worse).

    How did the human race survive before supermarkets were invented....?

  12. #12
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Who Cares!
    Posts
    4,092
    Thanks
    8
    Thanked
    61 times in 52 posts
    Nothing like green bread! yum yum

  13. #13
    Goron goron Kumagoro's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    3,107
    Thanks
    37
    Thanked
    153 times in 126 posts
    Also have you ever noticed that at around Christmas time the
    code life of stuff gets longer? did they suddenly make the
    supply chain more efficient? did they bollocks, they just put
    shorter codes on normally to make you buy more often.

  14. #14
    Sukiyaki Western! notsobig's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    London
    Posts
    1,003
    Thanks
    32
    Thanked
    20 times in 20 posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Koolpc View Post
    Nothing like green bread! yum yum
    I always buy Hovis original wheatgerm because I like the taste, but usually half of them goes green before I finish them off

  15. #15
    Ғо ѕніzzLє му піzzLє chicken's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Kent
    Posts
    1,576
    Thanks
    28
    Thanked
    52 times in 43 posts
    My bread will usually last around 5 days after the best-before date.
    If you only open the packet as little as you need so to keep the air in there from mixing with outside, then squeeze excess air out before sealing it then it lasts a lot longer.
    1.21 GIGAWATTS!!!!!

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Lidl Husky fridge can it be used with food
    By ppj in forum Retail Therapy and Bargains
    Replies: 17
    Last Post: 11-08-2006, 11:30 AM
  2. Mouse with a life of it's own.
    By firefox in forum PC Hardware and Components
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 23-03-2006, 12:49 PM
  3. So, you want to date my daughter, do ya?
    By Zak33 in forum General Discussion
    Replies: 24
    Last Post: 31-08-2004, 12:53 PM
  4. the FINEST things at "Good Food Show"
    By Zak33 in forum General Discussion
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 01-12-2003, 12:43 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •