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

Minerva69

deanos wrote:

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

I examined the packets VERY closely and even took the cups out of their packets to see if they had any dates on (they didn't). The packets only have one date on. There is a longer code number which begins 0606, so I assume that could be the date of manufacture but not sure about that.

I can't take them back as I do my shopping online and get it delivered as we don't have a car. I'm still waiting for Tesco's to get back to me, and I have reported it to Trading Standards via the Consumer Direct web site. I did this because I planned to give these to my 2 year old, she could have ended up getting ill if I had given them to her without noticing the dates. I still believe Tescos should not have had these on their shelves without putting them in a "bargains" area and reducing the price. They should not be delivering them to customers who order their shopping online. I will leave the matter in the hands of Tescos/Trading Standards and will post back here if I get any responses from either.

gyzmo

uktim29 wrote:

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.

If they had better standards they would not treat this issue so flippantly and allow food past its sell by or use by date to be sold.

dawnybabes

I fed my 7 month old baby a yoghurt bought in Tescos cafe that had green mould in it - I kept spooning it in and he kept spitting it out (as they do) and only eventually I tasted it and tasted the mould. I immediatly went up to the counter for her to grunt at me and give me another. I asked for it to be reported in the accident book in case he was ill and the assistant begrudginly did it. As it happens he was OK but I was horrified at their attitude. I sent a letter to Tesco who washed their hands of it and told me the problem was with Muller not them. I always thought that because I'd bought it their and eaten it their it was their problem not the suppliers ? anyway they wouldn't do anything at all, not even a phone call to check if he was OK. Muller on the other hand were great, phoned to make sure everything was OK and sent me £25.

I used to shop every week in Tesco - now I go in twice a year - if that !

deanos

The Morrison's down the road from me got fined £11K recently for selling mouldy pies, best to take to environmental health if you get anything thats mouldy or unfit for consumption as they take things like that very seriously

kev7n84

Ive got a pesky little shop near me that seems to be always selling out of date stuff, best before and use by. Then one day i got short changed by a fiver, was told to go back the day affter once the til had been cashed up. was told that they had lost the power during the day and lost their till reading, couldnt check the cctv either. It annoyed me, especially as im in food retail but i was prepared to let it drop, til one of my mates decided to take action and she sent an email to trading standards for me about the out of date stock... heres the reply from the Scientific Officer (Food Safety, Environmental Regulation Service, Plymouth City Council.


I refer to your e-mail concerning the above mentioned premises. Selling food that has expired its Best Before date code is not an offence, provided the food is 'fit' to eat For example, a food in a clear wrapper such as cakes or biscuits can be seen through the wrapper not to be mouldy, however if it was enclosed, potentially it could be mouldy and in that instance, the retailer would have committed an offence by selling it if it was found to be mouldy on opening the packet..It is not good practice to sell foods that are beyond the Best Before datecode and we would certainly not encourage it. If a retailer does sell this food, then he is obliged to bring the matter to the attention of the customer and this is usually done in the form of a notice and reduction in the price and should be displayed along side the foods. It would not be acceptable for the retailer to rely on verbally communicating the information to the customer as they may forget to do so. The information relating to the date is a legal requirement under the labelling regulations and therefore it is always advisable to check dates, particularly if it is a food which seems considerably cheaper than you would expect to pay.These types of food that carry a best before date code are those that will not support the growth of harmful bacteria and so would not cause illness ifeaten after the date. The manufactures of these product apply the date as anindication of the quality of the product and they would not guarantee the quality of the food after that date. e.g. biscuits may not be as crisp etc.

It is an offence to sell food after a 'Sell By' date code. these foods will support the growth of harmful bacteria and potentially could cause illnessif consumed after the date. A retailer selling this type of food after expiry of a 'Use By' date would be committing an offence and may be liable to prosecution. I would like to thank you for bringing this matter to my attention. The complaint will be kept on our records and an Officer from this department will investigate the matter further when next in the area.

hopefully that explains it. And incase anybodys wondering... yep they still seem to be not bothering to date check their products!

kev7n84

oh i would also like to say that i would inform the branch of tesco's that it was out od date and only bother to take it further if it keeps on happening, none of us are perfect are we, so why should everybody else be?

uktim29

gyzmo wrote:

If they had better standards they would not treat this issue so flippantly and allow food past its sell by or use by date to be sold.

The post your refering to had no reference suggesting the poster has/runs a resturant/retail business therefore there is no evidence of the posters own standards.

They were simply suggesting to see what the retailer does now they've been informed of the problem!

People can be reasonable and have high standards!

Minerva69

Just a quick update - Tescos.com have contacted me by email and they have offered a refund and a promise that they will contact the manager of the store concerned. Trading Standards are going to investigate the case, so they must think there is something worth investigating!