Sold food well past its sell-by date - who to complain to?

needaspirin

Many years ago I took a pie containing mouldy meat to my local Trading Standards. After looking at it the guy told me that the mould wouldn't have hurt me if eaten. He added, "You can eat mouse droppings as long as they are cooked thoroughly."

I was lost for words.

Minerva69

withabix wrote:

Food CAN be sold after the BEST BEFORE date.

Food CANNOT be sold after the USE BY date.

I hope you don't mind me asking, but how do you know this? I've never come across this before. If this was the case, wouldn't all shops be selling things after their best before date?

On the packets it says best before, but I still think I will contact Trading Standards anyway just to bring it to their attention. Thanks for the replies everyone.

rosysparkle

Minerva69 wrote:

I hope you don't mind me asking, but how do you know this? I've never come across this before. If this was the case, wouldn't all shops be selling things after their best before date?

On the packets it says best before, but I still think I will contact Trading Standards anyway just to bring it to their attention. Thanks for the replies everyone.

A quick google brings up several sites (local trading standards websites, for example) stating that food can legally be sold after the best before date.

I hate to say this, but have you checked the year? I only say this as I have some Fruit Express fruit cups in the cupboard and after looking at this thread I checked the date. They have a best before date of 30 Sep 07 and at first glance, I thought it said Sep 06 and they were out of date, which they aren't. Sorry to mention it, I expect you will have already checked that!

Contains_Mild_Peril

withabix wrote:

Food CAN be sold after the BEST BEFORE date.

Food CANNOT be sold after the USE BY date.

Both terms mean exactly what they say.

In terms of the OP's problem, it depends if it was BEST BEFORE or USE BY.

It's not quite as clear-cut as that. It is illegal to sell food which is a potential health hazard, which is deemed to include anything past its Use-By date - usually applied to dairy and meat products with fairly short shelf lives. Best Before dates are not quite so absolute, but are there for guidance: I was told when I complained to Trading Standards about a can of beer sold a month past its BB date that it was not illegal because it wasn't actually a health hazard, but if I was dissatisfied with the way it tasted, I could be be entitled to a refund under the Sale Of Goods act on the grounds that it was not of merchantable quality. Exactly when food past its BB date becomes a health hazard is hard to judge, which is why most major retailers have a blanket policy against selling any out-of-date food. I think it's safe to say that the OP's Fruit Cups should not have been sold, and a complaint to Tesco's head office would be appropriate.

Minerva69

I did check the date, more than once, and I also showed it to my other half to make sure I hadn't got it wrong. I've just been looking on Tesco's web site and the offending products are now "unavailable from my store". They've obviously realised and must have removed them from sale now. I bet they've had a lot of complaints!

SaraSeahorse

the item being unavailable from store does not mean they have removed them due to complaints.

Some products are available as a promotion or from time to time.

uktim29

gyzmo wrote:

Mistakes do happen and companies should and do pay for it (or better still learn). This attitude is very disturbing. If the poster of this has a cafe or restaurant, please let me know so i don't go anywhere near it...

The poster if they did have a cafe/restaurant might have better standards than any other competitor, there is no relation from their post made to standards the poster might have for themselves. They are just obviously more reasonable when they encounter mistakes made by others than you.

eyelinerprincess

I work in a small grocery store and a complaint like that usually means a frantic code check of EVERYTHING.

withabix

Minerva69 wrote:

I hope you don't mind me asking, but how do you know this? I've never come across this before. If this was the case, wouldn't all shops be selling things after their best before date?

On the packets it says best before, but I still think I will contact Trading Standards anyway just to bring it to their attention. Thanks for the replies everyone.

Most shops DO sell things after their Best Before date, it's just that they normally reduce them and MSE'rs snap them up, hence they don't hang around for long!

You often see 'out of date' crisps, biscuits, tinned food, vac-packed food products etc on sale in most supermarkets in the 'Bargain' section after the Best Before date.

Perishables such as meat, milk, veg, salads, chilled meals etc appear in the 'Bargain' chiller cabiniet 0-2 days BEFORE the Use-By Date.

'Use-By' dates are often quite conservative anyway - how does the food know it has to become lethally poisonous at 1 second after midnight on the day after the Use-By date???

How on earth did we all survive when meat was kept in a cupboard (or hung up)?? You don't see date stamps in butchers shops, do you!!!!

A lot depends on storage conditions, especially temperature and light. Our standard fridge in the kitchen makes things go off just after their use-by date, whereas the American job in the garage seems to make things last 'forever' - this is down to the kitchen fridge being opeend regularly and hence temperature control is poor, whereas the one in the garage might only be opened once or twice a day and the thermostat control is invariably better in this type of fridge.

deanos

Before you take it back check its not the manufacturing date you have looked at as sometimes items have 2 dates on them