Reduced to clear-grocery

MIN2511

I haven't seen any thread about this but i will like to know what others think...

Everytime i go to my local Tesco i see reduced to clear items, some past their sell by dates but yet are still for sale...

1. Is this legal?
2. Is the food consumed at the customers expense(i.e. if they become sick Tesco is not to blame)
3. Do you buy reduced to clear grocery? What do you think of buying/consuming reduced to clear grocery.

BNC

Not really a "Bargain Alert".

Try posting in Consumer issues...

nowuckenfurries

MIN2511 wrote: »

I haven't seen any thread about this but i will like to know what others think...

Everytime i go to my local Tesco i see reduced to clear items, some past their sell by dates but yet are still for sale...

1. Is this legal?
2. Is the food consumed at the customers expense(i.e. if they become sick Tesco is not to blame)
3. Do you buy reduced to clear grocery? What do you think of buying/consuming reduced to clear grocery.

1.yes as the food is only reaching "Display Date" not BB4 date which is normally the next day

2. Tesco are still liable as if it was a normal product, hence they are not trying to poison you

3. Yes I do sometimes, its handy to pick up some things really cheap to eat that night or to freeze, have been doing so for 2 years now & have not been poisoned yet :eek:

You can get some good meat already bagged from the butchers counter, Angus beef for less than half price, sure meat carcases (sp?) are hung for a couple of weeks before it is even butchered to sell...

Also there is stuff from their bakery section too.... a stale bun won't kill you

WIZWEB

Its legal with veg, bread etc but with meats/fish no. I've often seen it in Tesco Clarehall with meats/fish a few days out of date with the reduced price yellow stickers conveniently covering the dates. I did complain to management and the relevant consumer agency about it but its still happening

Apols for post in wrong section but thought a reply relevant to OP's statement.

zynaps

nowuckenfurries wrote: »

Also there is stuff from their bakery section too.... a stale bun won't kill you

It will if it's thrown hard enough

Cabaal

MIN2511 wrote: »

some past their sell by dates but yet are still for sale...

Hang on now, is it sell by date, use by date or best before date....the three are VERY different, which are you actually referring to?

MIN2511

Cabaal wrote: »

Hang on now, is it sell by date, use by date or best before date....the three are VERY different, which are you actually referring to?

Actually all three, i have seen products displayed with sell by dates, use by date and best before date

Jip

Superquinn also do this, it's no biggey and it's handy for picking up a nice bit of dinner for cheap as long as you're going to eat it or freeze it immeidately.

jor el

MIN2511 wrote: »

Actually all three, i have seen products displayed with sell by dates, use by date and best before date

Consuming something that's gone past it's use by date (usually you'll find these on meat and dairy products) can be very dangerous, as you run the risk of being poisoned. Selling something that's past it's use by date is therefore very dodgy, and I'd imagine the Food Safety Authority might have something to say about it.

A sell by date is normally accompanied with a use by, or best before, date too. This just gives the consumer a grace period between when it should be sold, and consumed. The best before date normally apples to items which won't poison you if consumed after this date, it just might not taste as good.

Some fruit can last for months beyond it's best before date, if stored properly. Grapes, for example, can last a very long time, even without preservatives being used on them.

I've never seen anything on these special offer stands that has gone past it's use by date.

artyeva

it's all about the display date, best before date and use by date.

i'd say about 60% of my grocery shopping comes from the reduced to clear section at my local tesco!!!

this morning i picked up a big bag of carrots for 60c and a pack of fresh coriander for 30c that will make about 2 litres of soup to be frozen and used throughout the week, a loaf of nice expensive bread for 80c that again can be frozen and used for toast, a tesco finest quiche for 95c that will be dinner tonight for me and me OH with the bag of salad for 99c, followed by a tesco finest lemon tart - €1.00 for two, washed down with tea using the organic milk for 80c.

happy days.

me-skywalker

I used to work in tesco's and this was my job.. checkin all the sell by dates on fresh produce.

if PAST its SELL BY then no straight into the skip out the back!

if its past its BEST BEFORE then yes and upto the customer to USE IT BEFORE

it used to get crazy with all the ready meals/cakes/breads ild bring them into the back label them up and wheel the trolley out to the shelf and ti would be empty before it got to the shelf!! Madness!!

Definitly well worth it. I used to take some myself and so did the managers.. why not its still in date and its still as bad as it always is just a whole lot cheaper now!!

zynaps

me-skywalker wrote: »

I used to work in tesco's and this was my job.. checkin all the sell by dates on fresh produce.

if PAST its SELL BY then no straight into the skip out the back!

if its past its BEST BEFORE then yes and upto the customer to USE IT BEFORE

Uh. So you did your job completely BACKWARDS?

The SELL BY date must be <= the BEST BEFORE date. For 'best before' read 'goes off on'. So if it's past its best before, it should go in the bin. If it's past its sell by but not the best before then it could be sold. Selling stuff that's past the best before date means selling ROTTEN FOOD.

Duh...?

Jip

zynaps wrote: »

For 'best before' read 'goes off on'. So if it's past its best before, it should go in the bin.

Duh yourself. Best before does not mean it should go in the bin, it simply means that it's past its best and may use some of it's flavour etc but it's still safe to eat with the only exception I think being eggs.

Whereas you should not eat anything that is past its Use By date unless you have frozen if before hand and then it's ok to eat when defrosted.

artyeva

Check ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ dates to make sure that you can keep the food until you intend to eat it. You will find 'use by' dates on foods that are very perishable, such as cooked meat products, prepared foods and salads.

Foods should not be eaten after the end of the 'use by' date as this could be a health risk.

'Best before' dates are used for less perishable foods and give an indication of when food will be of the best quality rather that indicating its safety.

So when the best before date runs out it doesn't mean that the food will be harmful, but it might begin to lose its flavour and texture. The exception to this is with eggs that should not be eaten after the 'best before' date.

taken from here
:rolleyes:

zynaps

Jip wrote: »

Duh yourself. Best before does not mean it should go in the bin, it simply means that it's past its best and may use some of it's flavour etc but it's still safe to eat with the only exception I think being eggs.

Whereas you should not eat anything that is past its Use By date unless you have frozen if before hand and then it's ok to eat when defrosted.

I don't think this is right. Most items I've seen carry a 'best before' instead of a 'use by'. In the absence of any other information, it makes sense to treat the best before as if it is a use by date. To confirm that I'm not crazy, I checked my fridge and of the three random items I picked:

• 2l bottle of milk had a date with no description
• Mayonnaise had a 'best before' date only
• Carton of eggs had a 'sell by' date and a 'best before' date. The sell by date was before the best before date, like I said earlier.

No 'use by' dates there. Are you going to eat eggs that are a year past their best before date because there's no 'use by'? Nope.
For all intents and purposes then, 'best before' is equivalent to 'use by'. If you want to guess that your food will still be okay 3 or 4 days after the best before, that's fine but a guess is all it is. (BTW I do buy reduced-to-clear groceries sometimes when I visit Tesco, but only if the best before is not past - used to get those lovely 1l pure squeezed orange juice in the Baggot St Tesco for lunch)

zynaps

artyeva wrote: »

'Best before' dates are used for less perishable foods and give an indication of when food will be of the best quality rather that indicating its safety.

So when the best before date runs out it doesn't mean that the food will be harmful, but it might begin to lose its flavour and texture. The exception to this is with eggs that should not be eaten after the 'best before' date.

taken from here
:rolleyes:

That's all well and good, but most goods with a 'best before' do NOT carry a 'use by' date. In which case it makes sense to consider the best before as equivalent to a use by. Maybe you can give a little more leeway for most items with a 'best before' rather than a 'use by', but you're just guessing really. It might not be harmful, but obviously you shouldn't really be eating something 15 years past its 'best before' just because there's no 'use by'.

A bit of common sense? :rolleyes: Don't accept everything you read.

Jip

zynaps wrote: »

No 'use by' dates there. Are you going to eat eggs that are a year past their best before date because there's no 'use by'? Nope.

Ahem, see my post your replying on

Jip wrote:

but it's still safe to eat with the only exception I think being eggs.

A quick google to confirm returned 2 pages from the UK FSA, I'm pretty sure it's the same on FSAI but I'm behind a UK firewall so assumes I'm looking for UK info,

Use by

You will see 'use by' dates on food that goes off quickly, such as smoked fish, meat products and ready-prepared salads.

Don't use any food or drink after the end of the 'use by' date on the label, even if it looks and smells fine. This is because using it after this date could put your health at risk.

For the 'use by' date to be a valid guide, you must follow carefully storage instructions such as 'keep in a refrigerator'. If you don't follow these instructions, the food will spoil more quickly and you may risk food poisoning.

'Use by' does not always mean 'eat by'. If a food can be frozen its life can be extended beyond the 'use by' date.

But make sure you follow any instructions on the pack - such as 'freeze on day of purchase', 'cook from frozen' or 'defrost thoroughly before use and use within 24 hours'.

It's also important you follow any instructions for cooking and preparation shown on the label.

Once a food with a 'use by' date on it has been opened, you also need to follow any instructions such as 'eat within a week of opening'.

But if the 'use by' date is tomorrow, then you must use the food by the end of tomorrow, even if you only opened it today.

Best Before
Best before

'Best before' dates appear on a wide range of frozen, dried, tinned and other foods.

The 'best before' dates are more about quality than safety, except for eggs. So when the date runs out it doesn't mean that the food will be harmful, but it might begin to lose its flavour and texture.

About a third of the food we buy ends up being thrown away and most of this could have been eaten. So think carefully before throwing away food that is past its 'best before' date.

However, you shouldn't eat eggs after the 'best before' date. This is because eggs can contain salmonella bacteria, which could start to multiply after this date.

And remember, the 'best before' date will only be accurate if the food is stored according to the instructions on the label, such as 'store in a cool dry place' or 'keep in the fridge once opened'.

So, if you want to enjoy the food at its best, use it by its 'best before' date and make sure you follow any instructions.

Display Until
Date marks such as 'display until' or 'sell by' often appear near or next to the 'best before' or 'use by' date. They are used by some shops to help with stock control and are instructions for shop staff, not shoppers.

The important dates for you to look for are the 'use by' and 'best before' dates.

me-skywalker

zynaps wrote: »

That's all well and good, but most goods with a 'best before' do NOT carry a 'use by' date. In which case it makes sense to consider the best before as equivalent to a use by. Maybe you can give a little more leeway for most items with a 'best before' rather than a 'use by', but you're just guessing really. It might not be harmful, but obviously you shouldn't really be eating something 15 years past its 'best before' just because there's no 'use by'.

A bit of common sense? :rolleyes: Don't accept everything you read.

listen i done it for 3 years its not backwards!!

unfortunatly your mis-misinterpreting it! BEST BEFORE does NOT mean USE - BY..... its simple! u can still eat banana's and other food stuffs that are not at their 'best' but once that are gone by the use by date then its a definite no no! the use by date is usually a day or two anyway and its written beside it.

and its not about guessin either for all intents and purposes of this conversation it is completly legal to sell stuff thats past its best before date.

zynaps

Jip wrote: »

Ahem, see my post your replying on

And maybe you should read my post you're replying to:

zynaps wrote:

That's all well and good, but most goods with a 'best before' do NOT carry a 'use by' date.

If you actually take a look in your fridge, rather than simply googling the FSA, you will see that there are in fact perishable items that will go 'bad', which are marked with best before and not use by.
For example, bread and cheese will go mouldy and should not be eaten, even if the mould isn't plainly visible, yet they are often marked with 'best before' only. Just because the general food marking standard is to put 'use by' on go-bad foods and 'best before' on not-really-go-bad foods doesn't mean that this always applies. It would be foolish to eat rotten bread or cheese that was past its 'best before', simply because it wasn't labeled with a 'use by'.

That's what I mean by common sense.

And my-skywalker: No, I don't think it would be legal to sell bananas a year past their best before date. Like I said, many goods are sold with a best before date and no use by date. Which is the point I'm trying to make: with such items, you should treat the best before date as if it was a use by date (that is, if it looks perishable - not a Pot Noodle).

Jip

If you eat mouldy cheese past you won't necessarily get sick, alot of cheese is made this way anyway. Same goes for bread, it maybe unpleasant but you won't die from it.

But the point remains the same, me-skywalker was not doing his job backwards.

jor el

zynaps wrote: »

That's all well and good, but most goods with a 'best before' do NOT carry a 'use by' date. In which case it makes sense to consider the best before as equivalent to a use by.

A Best before date is not a use by date, and shouldn't be considered as such. Most people won't eat something outside it's best before date, but there's nothing wrong with it.

zynaps wrote: »

For example, bread and cheese will go mouldy and should not be eaten, even if the mould isn't plainly visible, yet they are often marked with 'best before' only.

Mouldy bread or cheese may taste rank, but it's not poisonous. Past use-by meat however, can be highly poisonous.

zynaps wrote: »

And my-skywalker: No, I don't think it would be legal to sell bananas a year past their best before date. Like I said, many goods are sold with a best before date and no use by date. Which is the point I'm trying to make: with such items, you should treat the best before date as if it was a use by date (that is, if it looks perishable - not a Pot Noodle).

Actually, it's probably not illegal to sell food past it's best before date, just that nobody would buy them. Changing or removing the best before date would be dishonest, and against the law. You may treat best before as a use by, if you wish, but saying it should be treated as such is wrong. It's not a use by date, with good reason. It's a personal choice for anyone to treat it that way.

Cabaal

zynaps wrote: »

That's all well and good, but most goods with a 'best before' do NOT carry a 'use by' date. In which case it makes sense to consider the best before as equivalent to a use by.

You can't consider best before as use by as they are not the same thing at all, if people want to buy these reduced to clear items leave them if your not comfortable or are concerned then don't buy them...end of

me-skywalker

So the moral of the story is... One time there was a €12 cake that had the best before date the 10th of jan on it and use by the 15th jan. I bought it on the 11th of jan for €2 brought it into the canteen and about 10ppl ate the mofo and none of us were sick.... it was one day after its 'best' tasting/quality date but still plenty of time before the ultimate use by date!! at which stage said good wouldnt have been illegal to sell!!

MIN2511

So i went to my local Tesco and picked broccoli florets reduced from €1.99 to 40cents
Display until 04/03
Use by 05/03


Since the use by date is tomorrow i'ld say i am good to eat the broccoli tomorrow for dinner

zynaps

me-skywalker wrote: »

So the moral of the story is... One time there was a €12 cake that had the best before date the 10th of jan on it and use by the 15th jan. I bought it on the 11th of jan for €2 brought it into the canteen and about 10ppl ate the mofo and none of us were sick.... it was one day after its 'best' tasting/quality date but still plenty of time before the ultimate use by date!! at which stage said good wouldnt have been illegal to sell!!

That's fair enough. I've done things like that before many times as well, and I never disagreed with you here.

But what if the best before date was 10th of Jan 2001 and there was no "use by" date (which is the important part of what I've been saying and you seem to be ignoring)? Would it be okay to sell it then? It certainly wouldn't be a good idea to eat it. Where do you draw the line?

Those of you pointing out that BBE is not the same as "use by" are continuing to ignore the fact that almost all items with a best before date have NO use by date printed.

And those of you saying "there's nothing wrong with eating rotten bread" and the like are talking complete nonsense. Try eating bread that's a year past its best before date and saying that there's nothing wrong except for the taste.
My point is that MOST foods do NOT carry a "use by" date, and many foods which instead have a "best before" date are NOT GOOD to eat when they're well past it. Eggs are one example, but there are others (e.g. frozen fish, cakes with fruit/meat/etc).

zynaps

jor el wrote: »

Mouldy bread or cheese may taste rank, but it's not poisonous. Past use-by meat however, can be highly poisonous.

Spoiled bread or cheese can of course be poisonous, since bacteria causes it to spoil. You're fairly safe with tinned goods, but badly rotten bread and cheese could cause severe diarrhoea and worse.

me-skywalker

zynaps wrote: »

And those of you saying "there's nothing wrong with eating rotten bread" and the like are talking complete nonsense. Try eating bread that's a year past its best before date and saying that there's nothing wrong except for the taste.
My point is that MOST foods do NOT carry a "use by" date, and many foods which instead have a "best before" date are NOT GOOD to eat when they're well past it. Eggs are one example, but there are others (e.g. frozen fish, cakes with fruit/meat/etc).

noway i wouldnt eat rotten bread thats one day rotten never mind year but thats a big too much of an exaggeration! and the foods you are talking about that carry a best before and not a use by are all because you can FREEZE them and then eat them 6months later so therefore ruling out the USE BY date... but rememebr you cant refreeze them after they thaw out! haha

good thread btw!

josh59

me-skywalker wrote: »

noway i wouldnt eat rotten bread thats one day rotten never mind year but thats a big too much of an exaggeration! and the foods you are talking about that carry a best before and not a use by are all because you can FREEZE them and then eat them 6months later so therefore ruling out the USE BY date... but rememebr you cant refreeze them after they thaw out! haha

good thread btw!

Dunnes Stores in Citywest last Saturday had short dated stuff in the reduced to clear section in one of the fridges with signs stating that all the items were suitable for freezing.

rubadub

MIN2511 wrote: »

Actually all three, i have seen products displayed with sell by dates, use by date and best before date

That is strange, maybe somebody making a mistake. I have never seen any shop selling after the use by date, which is really the only one to be wary of.

jor el

zynaps wrote: »

Spoiled bread or cheese can of course be poisonous, since bacteria causes it to spoil. You're fairly safe with tinned goods, but badly rotten bread and cheese could cause severe diarrhoea and worse.

Mould is a spoilage bacteria, and not a pathogenic bacteria. I wouldn't eat green bread though.

zynaps

jor el wrote: »

Mould is a spoilage bacteria, and not a pathogenic bacteria. I wouldn't eat green bread though.

my-skywalker wrote:

and the foods you are talking about that carry a best before and not a use by are all because you can FREEZE them and then eat them 6months later so therefore ruling out the USE BY date... but rememebr you cant refreeze them after they thaw out! haha

Good points guys.