The "Pay ALL your debt off by Xmas 2012" challenge - PART 3!!!

jakes-mum

his_missus wrote: »

Jakes mum - I once popped into Coop to see if thay had any yellow stickered food and they had a bag of spinach for 10p. Bargain I thought, it'd last a day or two at least but because it was dated use by the day before they refused to sell it to me! I asked if they would just give it to me and I'd put the money in the charity tin by the till if all they were goig to do is throw it away but they said they couldn't do that, it had to be thrown. Take no messing from Mr T, not that you would anyway; if I were Mr T I'd be afraid, very afraid...:rotfl:

You know funnily, that is exactly what DH says aswell :rotfl:I do love a good complaint email, wont waste my phone bill ringing them, always email Well my mates at Mr T were very apologetic when they rang me back and are sending me a £5 voucher :j :j, Quakers on the other hand informed me that basically its not illegal to sell out of date food as long as its consumable (how did they know whether it was :think: are they spying on my house :eek:) and basically they are not legally (used this word twice in their email) responsible. So basically Mr Quakers, you dont care if your suppliers sell out of date food as long as you get paid for it, good to know I will be responding

psychopathbabble wrote: »

Random question but I just got a pack of baby new potatos out of the cupboard (not realising they should be in the fridge) they are dated best before 16/05... they have gone mushy. Should I still try and complain? Do i need to go in the shop or can I call their helpline?

I see you already did, but yes I would totally have complained :rotfl:. And as an FYI I keep all my spuds in the fridge, I have a special drawer for them and everything

Bonglecat

Some people have been making comments about things being past their best before date and so throwing them away. I have to say I feel very strongly on this point, I'm stepping up on my soap box so beware!!! :eek: Best Before dates mean NOTHING, the food does not cease to be edible just becuase it's past this date. Now don't get this mixed up with Use by dates which are important although also erring a day or two on the side of caution.

Here's a quote from NHS Choice:

"Best before" dates are about quality, not safety. When the date is passed, it doesn't mean that the food will be harmful, but it might begin to lose its flavour and texture.
Eggs can be eaten a day or two after their "best before" date as long as they are cooked thoroughly until both yolk and white are solid, or if they are used in dishes where they will be fully cooked such as a cake.
Every year in the UK we throw away 7.2 million tonnes of food and drink, most of which could have been eaten. So think carefully before throwing away food past its "best before’" date.
Remember, the "best before" date will only be accurate if the food is stored according to the instructions on the label, such as "store in a cool dry place" or "keep in the fridge once opened".

Someone here mentioned a box of cereal that was 7 weeks past it's best before date and threw it away. If it was unopened then it would have been perfectly safe to eat but it may have lost some of it's crunch and if it was porridge well it wouldn't have made a blind bit of difference anyway because you had to cook it.

I recently found a box of Quinoa in my cupboard that was 2 years past it's date but on a risk assessment basis, it's a dried grain, it was in a sealed bag and box so couldn't be contaminated and it needs cooking, so I happily used it up and it's no different from a box I could have bought last week. In fact if you think about it when was that food actually packaged? It could have been 5 years ago for all we know.

So I take a step back down and hope I haven't offended anyone. But remember MSEs should never throw away anything useful

antonia1

jakes-mum wrote: »

Quakers on the other hand informed me that basically its not illegal to sell out of date food as long as its consumable (how did they know whether it was :think: are they spying on my house :eek:) and basically they are not legally (used this word twice in their email) responsible. So basically Mr Quakers, you dont care if your suppliers sell out of date food as long as you get paid for it, good to know I will be responding

Just to play devil's advocate for a minute, it does massively depend on whether you are talking about food which is past its "use by" date or past its "best before" date. People such as Approved Foods make a living out of selling stuff past its "best before" date, and some of us get much cheaper diet c0ke by being happy to use food / drink that still tastes fine. However, it is illegal to sell food past its "use by" date because that is there for health reasons (rather than quality control).

antonia1

Lols, Bonglecat I think we cross-posted. The difference between "use by" and "best before" is on my list of "actually helpful things which should be on the national curriculum because they are, frankly, more important than knowing how many wives Henry VIII had".

psychopathbabble

Can I just say that my potatos were in liquid and turning to mush so definitely not useable! :O

SpagBol

KissyKissyKaren41 wrote: »

:rotfl:Gosh im glad im going to be debt free by xmasish as im sick of wishing month away till pay day lol this debt paying is so addictive got a tesco order due on friday hmmm do we really need to eat this week:rotfl: or shall I cancel it lol

Hope everyone is doing ok and smiling xxx

I know exactly what you mean, I have been wishing this year away really waiting for the next bit of cash coming in

jakes-mum

Bonglecat wrote: »

Someone here mentioned a box of cereal that was 7 weeks past it's best before date and threw it away. If it was unopened then it would have been perfectly safe to eat but it may have lost some of it's crunch and if it was porridge well it wouldn't have made a blind bit of difference anyway because you had to cook it.

I did read the whole post but as this is specifically about me ive snipped it Can I just assure everyone I havent thrown the box away!! Its sat right next to me now as I needed it to copy the info. I do understand completely the difference between use by and best before, BUT 1) I do not agree with being charged full price for something that is past its best before date and thus possibly not in the best possible condition taste wise adn 2) I have serious problems with my stomach, which include 6 months of diahorroea once (and that wasnt funny I can tell you), followed by 4 years of eating nothing but roast dinner, so yes I am a bit sensitive to things not being at their best. I have no problem feeding stuff with BBD past to the family, I rarely take any notice of them on their food, its only mine im sensitive too as I know what can happen if there is something wrong with it. Though I cant protect myself from every eventuality I do try to limit the chance of a re-occurance.
This wasnt a rant, its mearly a rather indepth (and probably a bit TMI ) insight into my phobia with food. It wont make sense to some of you, but it makes me feel better and more in control. I dont throw food away ever, but I will donate it to others if I cant face eating it myself, this box of cereal will prob get mixed in with another 'in date' box or fed to Miss 'cast iron stomach' Lily.

antonia1 wrote: »

Just to play devil's advocate for a minute, it does massively depend on whether you are talking about food which is past its "use by" date or past its "best before" date. People such as Approved Foods make a living out of selling stuff past its "best before" date, and some of us get much cheaper diet c0ke by being happy to use food / drink that still tastes fine. However, it is illegal to sell food past its "use by" date because that is there for health reasons (rather than quality control).

Lol loving your devils advocate my response (which I will be sending to them too) is unless you actually inspect the box of cereal you cant guarantee me 100% that the food is useable, you cant tell me if its got anything living in it or that the strawberries have gone mouldy
My main gripe is that they sold me a box of cereal at full price, which they had put on the normal shelf (rather than a reduced section) that was out of date. If im going to buy out of date/near date food I want it reduced and I want to decide to do so.

his_missus

:think:I think we just assume/expect (well I do anyway) that supermarkets only sell food that is in date (be that best before or use by) and if food is past its best before or nearing its use by it will be yellow stickered/reduced. If I bought something from a site such as Approved Foods I would expect it to be near/past its best before date.

I keep my spuds in a special bag I bought from lake land that keeps them fresh for longer - it doesn't work though :rotfl:

Barbeduk - good advice about cancel all but the chocolate so this week I'm only going to buy chocolate I think I might give that Mr T discount code thingy a go actually, see if I can make savings....

EDIT: ooh, j-m, you sound like my bessie mate, she had tummy troubles and lived off a diet of plain rice for months once. Her diet, although more varied now, is still quite restrictive and she's very particular about food being very fresh x

jakes-mum

his_missus wrote: »

:think:I think we just assume/expect (well I do anyway) that supermarkets only sell food that is in date (be that best before or use by) and if food is past its best before or nearing its use by it will be yellow stickered/reduced. If I bought something from a site such as Approved Foods I would expect it to be near/past its best before date.

EDIT: ooh, j-m, you sound like my bessie mate, she had tummy troubles and lived off a diet of plain rice for months once. Her diet, although more varied now, is still quite restrictive and she's very particular about food being very fresh x

Maybe it is me :eek: I do get about a bit :rotfl:. I think your right on the whole yellow sticker thing, I dont buy from AF and im very careful to rotate my stock so that the oldest gets used first, tbh very little of our food gets to the BBD as I always take from the back of the shelf when shopping (oh mum you taught me well ) especially bread! and bcause I cook from scratch mostly I dont have alot of cupboard stuff . . well apart from my curry and lasagne sauces, but I dont eat either of them so they dont bother me :rotfl:. . . still get rotated though :rotfl:.

affordmylife

i had a really bad day yesterday.

i apologise to anyone i offended.

good luck to you all with your debt free journey.

thank you jemma for all your hard work.

xx