Cadburys Shop at Outlet Village - out of date stock

24

Comments

  • tomstickland
    tomstickland Posts: 19,538 Forumite
    First Post Combo Breaker
    Now, I know it's not illegal to sell food that's past its Best Before date, and to be fair there were disclaimers on the shelf warning customers of this, but does anyone agree with me that selling a chocolate bar over four months past its Best Before date is really pushing it too far?
    No, I don't agree with you. Chocolate can be stored for years.
    Happy chappy
  • moonrakerz
    moonrakerz Posts: 8,650 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post
    A lot of "sell by & best before" dates are ridiculous.

    If Volvic bottled water has been filtered through volcanic rock for millions of years, why does it need to be dated ???
  • gregg1
    gregg1 Posts: 3,148 Forumite
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    moonrakerz wrote:
    A lot of "sell by & best before" dates are ridiculous.

    If Volvic bottled water has been filtered through volcanic rock for millions of years, why does it need to be dated ???


    quite - it always amazes me with something like stilton cheese - I mean, how long is it left to go mouldy before its put on the shelves with a use by date of the next day!!!!!
  • gregg1
    gregg1 Posts: 3,148 Forumite
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    taxiphil wrote:
    It just seems very contradictory to me. If it doesn't deteriorate in taste or in terms of food safety, why not extend the Best Before date by six months when it is printed on to the pack? They can't have it both ways.

    I just feel that four months past the BB is very old and if this is deemed acceptable practice, where do we draw the line? Five months? Six months? Seven? Doesn't it make a mockery of having Best Before dates in the first place?


    Everything is relative. Four months is not VERY old in the life of a chocolate bar - its certainly not a danger to your health. Me, I am quite happy to buy an out of date bar at a reduced rate.

    But if you have a problem with it go to the corner shop, look for a bar with a relevant use by date and buy that one!
  • jasons_2
    jasons_2 Posts: 190 Forumite
    I've worked inthis area most of my life, and when launching new products had almost daily rows with the CEO because of his stance on BBE dates...

    If you think about most products ion sale in the UK the Best Before is significantly less than the real date the product will 'last'. The CEO's view was to put the absolute shortest life on a product, as when a consumer goes to use it they find its just out of life, react in the same way as the OP bin it and then go out and buy some more. Great for margin, brand share etc.

    Chocolate will last for years if stored correctly, and I know for a fact that trials have gone on in the UK flour industry where store flour over 10 years old has been trialled and used.

    Use By dates are there for a reason, Best Befores I always tend to use as a guideline....
  • mikeperry
    mikeperry Posts: 5 Forumite
    Why are you soo woried, i live in birmingham right next to the factory and there is a shop there, the chocolate is out of date by up to 6 months or even a year but you can pick up a box of thirty bars fo a couple of quid. also chocolate tastes the same for 2 years+ after the bb date as silly gov regulations set the dates too early. if i were you i'd stop moaning and start buying the delicious cadburys choc.
  • Nile
    Nile Posts: 14,930 Ambassador
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    I too would be happy to buy out of date chocolate, if the price is right.;)

    I wouldn't buy chocolate containing nuts (eg Cadbury's Wholenut bars) though. It's not because I have an allergy or intolerance..............it's because nuts don't last as long as chocolate and taste foul when they're old.:p

    I don't really see the problem here, if it angers you that Cadbury's are selling out of date chocolate..............don't buy it.;)
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  • gregg1
    gregg1 Posts: 3,148 Forumite
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    mikeperry wrote:
    Why are you soo woried, i live in birmingham right next to the factory and there is a shop there, the chocolate is out of date by up to 6 months or even a year but you can pick up a box of thirty bars fo a couple of quid. also chocolate tastes the same for 2 years+ after the bb date as silly gov regulations set the dates too early. if i were you i'd stop moaning and start buying the delicious cadburys choc.


    that shop is bl..dy brill - here's another regular!
  • urban_spirit
    urban_spirit Posts: 1,834 Forumite
    I was in the Cadburys shop in Cheshire Oaks last Friday (sheltering from the thunderstorm you understand :wink: ) and bought some chocolate past its best before date. No complaints at all, tasted fine to me! :drool:
    A Fendi Baguette is not a sandwich.....
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  • taxiphil
    taxiphil Posts: 1,980 Forumite
    Thanks for all the "if you don't like it, don't buy it" responses, which I feel missed the original point I was trying to make.

    If there were lumps of radioactive plutonium on sale to kids you could just as well say "if you don't like it, don't buy it" - but just because I'm not buying it doesn't mean I'm not entitled to be concerned at the behaviour of a retailer who may be acting irresponsibly.

    I take the word of people who've tried it that this chocolate may be perfectly fine for months or even years after its Best Before date has expired - but that wasn't really my point.

    My point was how are consumers supposed to know which foods are and which foods aren't acceptable to eat after their Best Before date? Many foodstuffs like tinned vegetables and tinned fish are not safe (or pleasant) to eat four months after the Best Before date.

    Consumers are not experts in food science. The Best Before date system is there to give consumers a reasonable idea of the approximate lifespan of a product. If a retailer is allowed to sell goods in May 06 that expired in Dec 05, then confidence in the whole Best Before date system is undermined and the whole system is thrown into disarray.

    If this chocolate tastes as good as new, then that's fine by me - but why not print Jun 06 instead of Dec 05 on the packet in the first place, and then it won't erode public confidence in Best Before dates.
    robby-01 wrote:
    Is that not what every retailer ,whatever product they sell uses factory shops for .
    Lighten up

    The vast majority of factory/outlet shops sell clothes and homewares, where there is obviously no problem with selling old stock. Selling old food is a completely different ball game. I hope you can understand the difference between food and clothes.
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