Is it illegal to sell out of date food?

EltonJohnFan · 30 December 2010 at 8:14PM

Good evening everyone,

I'm been trying to find some information on whether it's illegal for a shop to sell out of date food because I've become aware that the local "Spar" in my community has a range of foodstuff that, in my opinion shouldn't be on sale because there are one or two items that are completely out of date and this has actually left me quite concerned. Whilst I was browsing through the shelfs for a few things today I noticed that the shop was selling chocolate chip muffins with a "best before date" of 19/12/2010 and this immediately caught my attention and so I then checked the bread and this wasn't so bad but was still out of date by a day or two. I also picked up a few packets of crisps and these again were out of date by a month or so but the very worst item was the Birds Eye Spaghetti Bolognese meal that I didn't actually check until I got home and was ready to put it in the oven but this item had a best before date of the 04/2010... surely this isn't right? I understand it's frozen food but even then I'd be wary of consuming something that's out of date by so much time. I wouldn't want to cause problems over nothing and I'll simply avoid this store in future but others might not be as lucky as myself and I feel compelled to bring this matter to the attention of the proper person who might be able to do something about this matter. When I took back the Spaghetti Bolognese meal the man merely shrugged his shoulders and said how did he know I'd bought it from there and that it could have been from any other shop, that he didn't sell out of date food. Take care everyone

System · 30 December 2010 at 8:34PM

Best Before is only a guide with no legal standing under the various food laws. It does what it says on the can and just warns you that the flavour/texture etc MIGHT degrade after this date. The food is still edible.

See the Food Standards site

dyldwarf · 30 December 2010 at 8:34PM

i think shops can get fined for selling out of date food

dickieg · 30 December 2010 at 8:45PM

As a rule of thumb
USE BY... Eat before the date, may be detramental to your health
SELL BY.... A date the shop should of sold it by but still alright to eat
BEST BEFORE... Ok to eat but may not be as tasty as the time prior to the date shown

jbro · 30 December 2010 at 8:57PM

dyldwarf wrote: »

i think shops can get fined for selling out of date food

I think you're right. My son used to work in a supermarket when he was in 6th form and he was always told to check and remove anything that was out of date.

jbro · 30 December 2010 at 9:01PM

From a trading standards website:

"Foods marked with a 'use by' date must not be sold or displayed for sale after their marked dates. It is an offence to sell or offer for sale food past its use by date. For example, use by 5 March means use by midnight on 5 March.
Foods marked with 'best before' or 'best before end' dates may be sold after their marked dates, provided that they remain of good quality and fit for human consumption. In these circumstances it is advisable to ensure that customers know that the date has expired before they make the decision to buy."

Miss_Orangey_Goodness · 30 December 2010 at 9:55PM

I imagine its fine if its "Best Before" - as previous poster says its fine to eat, just wont be as nice.
Things like meats, eggs etc have "use by" where you shouldnt eat thereafter. So I would have been wary though with anything with meat in like your frozen spag bol....are you sure it was best before, not use by...?

thatguy1 · 30 December 2010 at 10:07PM

You should have taken him for a walk around his shop showing him all the out of date stuff he's got

[Deleted User] · 30 December 2010 at 11:34PM

I think that they have a legal obligation to make the buyers aware that the product is after its date.

EltonJohnFan · 31 December 2010 at 8:55PM

Thanks everyone for the information I needed. I've decided to just let this go and won't be using that particular store anymore.

fruitcake_2 · 31 December 2010 at 11:47PM

I find out of date products in supermarkets all the time, only yesterday I found a crate of eggs that were use by 22 Dec, when bringing it to the "manager's attention" he shrugged his shoulders and did nothing that was a tesco, and have found chocolates that were three months past their best as well as cereal foods a year out of date!

I am a bargain hunter and have very sharp eyes and find it easy to spot, but the attitude of the supermarkets differ, some staff are thankful and are quick to correct their mistake, while some staff could give a ......
all in all, as far as I have been told, a supermarket can be fined up to £2000 for selling an out of date item, but am not sure how accurate this is.

Is it illegal to sell out of date food?

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