Supermarket 'Sell by' and 'display until' dates are wrong!

andrewmoorcroft

rharper83 wrote:

I'm sorry, but how else could you have meant that, apart from being offensive? Have you ever considered that some people might want to just work in a shop, with no stress etc, or that some people might be there part time looking after their families, or that some people might be there while they are studying? No, I don't think you have!

Sorry for the diversion, but I just felt disgusted by that post! I thought everyone was supposed to be nice on mse??

I do agree with the points about the dates though.... Supermarkets should pay more attention!

I have already answered a similar point from carrie in post 15.

"They were ignorant in their lack of understanding of the meaning of words". Quote from english dictionary. Ignorant- "lacking knowledge in a given subject".

I am totally ignorant when it comes to the subject of sewing or cake making and i'm not offended.

You may be ignorant of the fact that i've already answered a similar point.

Again, i think this is due to peoples lack of understanding of the meaning of words. For example ignorant and arrogant have 2 different meanings but are sometimes incorrectly used universally. Dramatic is over used when the correct word is often substantial. This list is endless. It is all a question of semantics!

How many people have you heard say 'i 'aven't got none'. This means 'i have got one OR more' (the opposite to 'i have got none'). Some people don't understand this even after it is explained to them! My favorite is ' i'm not never gonna love you, not never no more'. We all know what was meant but can anyone be bovered to work out the literal meaning.

A person is described as ignorant in their understanding of the english language if they don't understand the above and if they are offended they need to read their dictionary.

Anyway, this wasn't meant to be an english lesson. I thought my english was bad but.... The thread was simply meant to create a debate on different peoples understanding of 'use by', 'sell by', 'best before' dates etc. It has clearly shown that many people including myself misunderstood the exact message from these labels. Carrie has kindly pointed us in the direction of a website with food label meanings. You can learn from this site or oppose it (although some people may consider that as arrogant).

lamnicholas

And another thing... is there really such a thing as a "Sell By" date? Why does everyone keep saying it?! I've only seen 'Best Before', 'Use By' or 'Display Until' written on any food packaging. Or maybe I'm missing something.

rsykes2000

I doubt there are many or any products with 'sell by' on their packaging, as that wouldn't give the consumer any advice as to when they should use the product...

ellou02

andrewmoorcroft wrote:

QUOTE carrie483- Ignorantly defend their position?? What makes them ignorant??

They were ignorant in their lack of understanding of the meaning of words. Quote from english dictionary. Ignorant- "lacking knowledge in a given subject".

Also i have looked up the meaning of 'UNTIL'. It means 'up to a point time' or date. OR 'throughout the period before'.
BEFORE means an earlier date or point in time OR in front of OR preceeding.
ie. before the 13th does not include the 13th. Last point in time before the 13th is midnight on the 12th.


I know my englisch is far from perfick (especillay on the webb) but i wouldn't get 4 words wrong on thousands of signs! Some people working at supermarkets are obviously IGNORANT of the english language.

I am thinking that the OP has quite a bit of time on their hands.

Plenty of time to argue the finer points of date labels with supermarket shopfloor staff, when they are probably just doing what they've been asked to do by a manager. Though, unsurprisingly, it seems he hasn't taken up the point with the managers who make the decisions, preferring to hassle the workers instead.


ps No offence to the OP, of course.

stugib

Not to turn this into an English debate, but the issue is more to do with the words that aren't there and the inferences people draw when they're missing.

Andrew interprets it as "Best before [the start of the] 13th"
Everyone else interprets it as "Best before [the end of the] 13th"

Both are equally valid IMHO, as it is ambiguous, but custom dictates the latter.

Of course the key point that someone has already made, is that is anything (bar one or two extreme examples) really of less quality at 12:00:01 on 13th than it is at 23:59:59 on 13th?

Certainly not worth berating bemused shop staff with!

Stuart