Was sold out of date meat - what to say?

kitschkitty

Hi, the other day my mum and I popped into Marks and Spencer and my mum being my mum trawled through the reduced items, and grabbed lots of stuff, including some minced beef. My mum gave it to me as she didn't have space for it in her freezer. When I got home and went to put it in the fridge I noticed it was out of date, with a use by date of the day before.

I have the receipt, and packaging, and put the mince in the freezer to keep it from going mouldy in my fridge till I can pop back to M&S.

Anyway, I know that they shouldn't have sold it, so what should I say when I take it back and what should I expect? Would they be likely to give a gift voucher as an apology. If they just give a verbal apology is that good enough?

I don't expect the earth, but from my food hygiene course I know how minced meat is more susceptible to bacteria because of how it is processed, and my OH was very ill with gastroenteritis earlier in the month (luckily not food poisoning related) but I'd be worried if I hadn't noticed the date and could have cooked it and made him really ill again.

jaz_2

No-one died from eating food that was one day past the 'Use By' date. Take the refund and get on with your life.

reehsetin

only time this happened to me i rang the store and informed them and asked them to double check that there wasn't any more out there (when i went in for the refund later there was still out of date stuff though! ps not m&s)

zenseeker

Accept the refund and forget it, it was clearly an honest mistake so it's not worth creating a huge fuss over. The department that was at fault should get a ticking off, and be forced to do a code check on the department as a precaution, this is what happened to me when a similar mistake occurred in the Morrison's I worked in.

*onlyme*

Thing is, no-one forced your mum to purchase it...she bought it when the dates were clear at this point in time.

Yes it shouldn't have been there, but at least in was in the clearance section. I would assume that any meat at a clearance section is very close to it's use by date, so maybe a lesson learned...

Contact M&S if it bugs you that much but surely there are much more important things is life to worry about.

Horace

Use by dates are only there as a guide anyway. If you buy meat from a butcher how do you know how old it is? Answer, you don't so being a day over the use by date isnt going to kill you.

Your mum had a choice - to buy or not to buy - simple as really there are more important things in life to worry about rather than a packet of mince which is one day past its use by or sell by date.

LandyAndy

Another vote here for 'Get A Life'.

andyroberts1967

Whenever I buy anything perishable I always as a force of habit check the sell by date, especially on meat and fish, because I instinctively look for the product with the longest shelf life. In a clearance section I would be even more vigilant with dates. I've found out of date stuff before and I always alert an assistant so they can remove the products.

Also I agree with previous posters about sell by dates being a guide only. If in doubt I use my nose and then decide.

joyce341

my daughter ordered her food online from Asda,it was the first time (and Last) she had a really large order includeing meat for the month,when she went to use some chicken,when defrosted noticed it had gone off,when checking all the other meat,noticed the use by date was the date she recieved it,contacted the store by phone and e-mailed them but had no reply,as the store is about half an hour away not easy to pop to,needless to say she wont do that again.
joyce

nesssie1702

It is illegal to sell foodstuffs past their Use By Date (Regulation 44(d) of the Food Labelling Regulations 1996.

With meat though, it's not likely to go mouldy and any bacteria present should be killed off when it's cooked thoroughly. Use your sense of smell to determine whether the meat is "off" or not.

IMHO a verbal apology would not be good enough - threaten to go to Environmental Health, especially if you've got your receipt to corroborate your purchase.

LandyAndy

nesssie1702 wrote: »

It is illegal to sell foodstuffs past their Use By Date (Regulation 44(d) of the Food Labelling Regulations 1996.

With meat though, it's not likely to go mouldy and any bacteria present should be killed off when it's cooked thoroughly. Use your sense of smell to determine whether the meat is "off" or not.

IMHO a verbal apology would not be good enough - threaten to go to Environmental Health, especially if you've got your receipt to corroborate your purchase.

Really? I think a bit of empathy wouldn't go amiss here. Having eaten the product:D I might well go back to the store and tell the foodstuffs manager 'Look, I bought this the other day and it was a day out of date, I just thought you ought to know'.