Taking out of date food from shop car park?

patchwork_cat

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I'm sure there are many reasons why shops cannot give out of date fresh food away to charities. It could be a litigation nightmare for a start. Can you imagine the outrage once the newspapers got hold of a story about the disadvantaged and vulnerable being given "bad" food to eat?

There is no need to let the food actually go out of date. It is given out by some supermarkets at close of business any food that is due to go out of date that day is given to homeless charities.

Jacksmummy-1979

I would have done exactly the same thing . ... Enjoy your soup .. x

bluebird

Eat the evidence quickly before the cops come.(wink)

andygb

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I'm sure there are many reasons why shops cannot give out of date fresh food away to charities. It could be a litigation nightmare for a start. Can you imagine the outrage once the newspapers got hold of a story about the disadvantaged and vulnerable being given "bad" food to eat?

I feel that I should correct this for you:

"Disadvantaged and vulnerable being given "free" food to eat"

The only paper which I can imagine being "outraged" at this, or try to make mischief, is our old friend the - Daily Wail;)
Then again, they do wear "outrage" as some kind of badge of honour.

Austin_Allegro

Strictly speaking I think it's illegal - the case of 'Benjy the Binman' v Regina a few years ago set this precedent - Benjy (real name Benjamin Pell) was a man who posed as a tramp rummaging through bins outside London solicitors, but he was actually looking for juicy gossip about celebrities to sell to the papers. The court ruled that rubbish belongs to the refuse company once it is disposed of.

I wouldn't worry about it though, I don't think anybody is likely to be prosecuted unless they're causing some other kind of nuisance (like 'Benjy') but persnally I'd be wary of taking foodstuffs from bins simply for hygiene reasons.

A friend of a friend has for years got loads of things from bins like books, clothes etc though...

twiz21

My local Co-Op used to reduce all of their food down to 20p until a few years ago.
So a large tray of garlic chicken, blocks of cheese, butter, oven ready joints of meat all 20p. This went on for a few years. Best bargain was a fresh free range turkey on boxing day. No-one wanted it as it was too large, could not fit in an oven, I had to cut it up and freeze.

They knew me very well in that shop and were very friendly. I once asked what would happen to this food if it were not sold, and they said it just got thrown away.

I think it's very bad that now good food is thrown away without first reducing the price much to give people a chance to buy it or allowing a local charity come and get it.

Cheapskate

My son works in a large SM, and says that when fresh meat/fish etc has been opened and on the counter for 2 (or maybe 3) days, it has to be disposed of at the end of the evening if it's unsold. Staff aren't allowed to buy or have it either - they've suggested they sign a disclaimer but have been told no. He's sometimes bought stuff for us early in his shift if he knows it's going to be disposed of, but I think it breaks his heart to see food being wasted like that - true OS mentality! We've never had food poisoning from any of it, as it's still actually fresh, but sometimes I freeze it to use another day to be on the safe side.

Farway

Gigervamp wrote: »

My Co-op is a small local one and their bins are at the back of the store in the same area as the car parking. I've been tempted.

Ditto, I saw sliced, wrapped, loaves stacked up once, and was sorely tempted by the thought of free bread pud

bluebird

I purchased pancake mix in the plastic bottle reduced to clear 20p in Asda only last week,I love pancakes and i love 20p but which is better?

stormchaos

Theres a big greengrocer+meat shop a couple of miles from me, they leave boxes of veg inside by the door for people to take for thier pets, stuff like cauli leaves and bruised apples, and veg in packets with sell by dates.
I get them for my horses and chickens, but I always go through it all first !
This week there were enough apples to make 2 huge crumbles, 6 packs of sugar snap peas (had them for tea last night), some massive spuds (will plant them in my allotment), loads of those tiny carrots(went in a stew), chilli peppers, passion fruits and chinese gooseberries(just saved the seeds to plant), plus all the stuuf that the animals got, cucumbers, cabbage leaves ,toms, cauli stalks etc
better than going to landfill, I think all supermarkets should be made to recycle thier veg, even if it was just composted.