Supermarket selling out of date produce - advice please

pepsiman

Braylen Gorgeous Rhino wrote: »

I think its illegal to sell food past its USE BY date so i doubt a large chain like supervalu
would risk something like that id imagine the OP has come accross goods past thier BEST BEFORE date

I found this on the FSAI website (http://www.fsai.ie/publications/reports/labelling2007.pdf, page 27):

if out of date stock is to be sold to
the consumer, it is strongly advisable to indicate that the
foodstuffs are past their ‘best-before’ date. This may assist
in ensuring that the consumer is not misled as to the true
nature of the product which is an offence.

Foodstuffs with a ‘use-by’ date must not be offered for sale
after this date due to the possible deterioration of these
highly perishable products and the associated risk of illness
if they are consumed. (...) food must not be placed on the market if it is
unsafe (i.e. injurious to health or unfit for human
consumption)

Once labelled, pre-packaged foods must not be re-labelled
with an altered ‘use-by’ or ‘best-before’ date or re-wrapped
other than by the manufacturer.

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

myjugsarehuge wrote: »

The Environmental Health lady rang me back today, says she has visited the store in question, viewed the said trolley with out of date produce for sale and has spoken with the Managers. They say they will remove the trollley and stop selling food past its use by date.

fair play on following it through!

Sonnenblumen

This all sounds nice and dandy, but there are a few telling comments in this piece.

(a) big store and especially large supermarkets overstep the mark. Stacking shelves with older produce to the front is a no brainer, and customers can pick whatever. I would ignore any comments from floorstaff, that said, I've never heard anyone talk of complaints etc from floorstaff.

(b) initial response from EPA would seem to be typical, makes a note, will ring back but never does and end of complaint. Fortunately there was a follow up on thgis occasion. But OP also made a point which would be my experience also, these faceless officials at the other end of the phone, are always busy, and quite difficult to get follow through.

Personally I would be more angry with a public servant failing their duty than a store breaching a rule. Afterall we can if proven sue a store but unfortunately we can do nothing about an ineffective official.

The agencies talk the talk but don't walk the walk. I would suggest any future similar occurences that the thread should also name the agency, the official, the store as well as the product. Otherwise it's more wives tales and if there are to be changes well you gotta stand up and demand a spade be a spade.

SerialComplaint

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Afterall we can if proven sue a store but unfortunately we can do nothing about an ineffective official.

The agencies talk the talk but don't walk the walk. I would suggest any future similar occurences that the thread should also name the agency, the official, the store as well as the product. Otherwise it's more wives tales and if there are to be changes well you gotta stand up and demand a spade be a spade.

It is not true to say that you can do nothing about an ineffective official. All public bodies have formal complaints procedures, and unresolved issues can be reported to the Ombudsman.

From a busy and effective (I hope) public servant....