Are Supermarkets using short use by dates for profit?

p24hrsmith

I shop mainly at Asda and have noticed that “use by dates” appear to be getting much shorter depending on the day you shop.
I started to notice that use by dates on Friday to Sunday are (or appear) to be much shorter than say Wednesday. The I noticed this is in all fresh products, for example on Fri<Sun a loaf of bread seem to only have 2 days life but on Wed they would have 4 or 5.
I didn’t think much of it at first but then I got thinking why they would be shorter on the main shopping days? I come to the conclusion could it be for profit?
If you sell a product with a short use by date the buyer would have to buy it more often IE a loaf of bread priced £1 with a 2 day date purchased on a Saturday would be out of date by Tuesday. So you have 2 choices to last a week
1 buy 3 and freeze 2 which is 1 more than you would buy if they had a 4 day date.
2 buy another loaf on say Wednesday so while some will nip to their local shop others will nip back to the supermarket and will they come out with just a loaf of bread???? NO there will always be those impulse buys to add on.
Also if all fresh products have (there abouts) the same use by date the above choices apply to most your shopping buy more or shop more both equal profit.
OR am I just being paranoid?

geordie_joe

p24hrsmith wrote: »

I shop mainly at Asda and have noticed that “use by dates” appear to be getting much shorter depending on the day you shop.
I started to notice that use by dates on Friday to Sunday are (or appear) to be much shorter than say Wednesday. The I noticed this is in all fresh products, for example on Fri<Sun a loaf of bread seem to only have 2 days life but on Wed they would have 4 or 5.

Maybe it's because the bread you see on the shelves on the weekend is the same stuff that was there on the Wednesday. By that I mean it's part of the same batch, they buy a load in on Wednesday and keep refilling the shelves with it each day.

On Wednesday it's got 5 day left, but by Saturday it's only got two days left.

My local Iceland do this with milk. They buy one big batch and it's on sale for a week or more. If you buy it at the beginning of the week it's got plenty life left, but by the end of the week not much life left in it.

miacat

I actually don't look at "use by dates".

you really shouldn't worry about it too much!

lilac_lady

I always look at "use by" dates and take the product from the back of the shelf. Can't help it.

p24hrsmith

I'm pretty sure supermarkets get deliveries ever day. If what your saying is correct ALL Supermarkets have there delivery on just Tue/wed which wouldn't be practical.

miacat

lilac_lady wrote: »

I always look at "use by" dates and take the product from the back of the shelf. Can't help it.

so do you just look at the fresh produce or everything...if you have a trolley load of food.....Jeez :think:

geordie_joe

p24hrsmith wrote: »

I'm pretty sure supermarkets get deliveries ever day. If what your saying is correct ALL Supermarkets have there delivery on just Tue/wed which wouldn't be practical.

But you haven't been in all supermarkets, so you can't know it happens in all of them.

It doesn't happen in my local supermarkets, but they are in the centre of a very small town and most of their customers live a very short distance away, so pop in most days anyway.

geordie_joe

miacat wrote: »

so do you just look at the fresh produce or everything...if you have a trolley load of food.....Jeez :think:

Not everybody has a trolley load of food, but even if they do, they don't fill the trolley then start looking at the dates. They look at the date as they pick the items off the shelf, it only takes a second

tabskitten

geordie_joe wrote: »

Not everybody has a trolley load of food, but even if they do, they don't fill the trolley then start looking at the dates. They look at the date as they pick the items off the shelf, it only takes a second

Thats a good point too.
I do not have children, its just my OH and I, so the use by date is important as a loaf of bread can last us the week sometimes, but in a family of 5 is less relevant as it will go in a day i imagine.....

tanith

I refuse to buy stuff especially bread and milk if its got a short sell-by date.. I look at the back first to see if I can find one with a longer date and if not I will go to a different shop to get it.. in fact I always go to the back of the pile with fresh stuff it only takes a second and the difference sometimes is staggering... I don't care if people tut at me .. which they do if I seem to be sorting through things to find what I want...

EDIT: forgot to add that I don't take much notice of use-by dates I use stuff that I think looks and smells ok and most things go way past the use-by dates..

lilac_lady

miacat wrote: »

so do you just look at the fresh produce or everything...if you have a trolley load of food.....Jeez :think:

I never have a trolley load of food - I'm only buying for me so a basket is fine.