Missing BB date on crisps

fionajbanana

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a multipack of crisps. There is no date stamped on the crisps - on the outer bag and the individual bags. I looked at the dates on other packs on the shelf and picked up one with no date.

I threw out the receipt and the product is a branded (Walkers) and the supermarket have every right to not refund/exchange as no proof of purchase. I have not tried to get a refund, but seen a customer at a supermarket having a shouting match at a manager when unable to refund another branded item.

Should there be more checks at the manufacturers and supermarket end? What happens if there is a recall notice with products with certain batch code(s) like McCoys earlier this year? I know things slip through the net. Or if someone found a foreign object in them? I once saw a supermarket colleague on opening a box of own brand cereal, the whole case had no dates and took them off the shop floor.

Nada666

Yes, we should increase the cost of products by 30% to bump the compliance up from 99.5 to 100%. I would much rather just pay more up front than face the occasional nightmare of having to contact a manufacturer on the rare occasion something goes wrong.

/sarcasm

paulineb_2

Are the crisps edible? Ive bought crisps that are near to or past their sell by date and never had any problems.

PasturesNew

It's just crisps..... you can tell if they're past their best as they taste soggy.

chesky

Interestingly, I just checked my own recent purchase of a multipak of crisps - M & S. Not only is the date on the overall wrapper bag, but it's also shown on the individual packets. So are you sure it's not at least on the inner packs? The good news surely is that, if your supermarket has a reasonable turnover, with a product like Walkers, it's not likely to be out of date - or at least not much. The other good news is that a product like crisps is unlikely to make you ill even if it is out of date.

Look on the bright side!

MysteryMe

I'm sure if there was a recall on a foodstuff the manufaturer/retailer would accept without question a product sans the BB date.

Were the crisps fresh? If they were, then don't worry about it. If they were not, take them back.

Teahfc

And in other news it was overcast with a little shower or two in the UK.

***Yawn***

Hold on I smell a claim. :rotfl:

VfM4meplse

MysteryMe wrote: »

I'm sure if there was a recall on a foodstuff the manufaturer/retailer would accept without question a product sans the BB date.

Do you mean w/o the receipt?

MysteryMe

Yes, why not if it's a recall on health grounds. It is the manufacturer who will be the compensating the retailer.

stephen77

you can probably go straight to Walkers head office with your complaint as if you take a photo of the product with no Best before date attached they can see it for themselves.

Walkers crisps will have a PO box address for contact details.

However I would just eat them to be honest.

Lugh_Chronain

Excuse me for asking but are we talking about batch codes or best before dates?

Usually when a company is recalling their products they normally inform the public via a media outlet, they will also ask you to return the product to where you purchased it or to the company address which they will inform the public about via a media outlet, they will then ask for the said item(s) that were bought on a certain date or dates to be returned.

If there is real risk to public health I can't imagine a store or the manufacturer refusing an item and not refunding anyone if one is owed.

As for best before dates, why is this a problem?

Can you define the difference between a best-before and a display-until date? If not, the likelihood is you're throwing a lot of food away unnecessarily.

As mentioned by Martin Lewis not so long ago: "Best before labels usually have nothing to do with whether food is safe to eat, it's just a manufacturer's view of optimum quality. Plus it's an easy way to keep us buying more food.

"Unlike use by dates there's no rule saying you can't eat food after the best before date. In fact, you're still allowed to sell it for consumption and many people can buy perfectly healthy food at heavy discounts this way.

"We should only have use by dates on food when appropriate which ARE for health reasons and 'sell by' dates on food for manufacturers. For everything else we should use our eyes and nose."

According to the NHS, use by dates are for foods that go off quickly, such as smoked fish, meat and ready-prepared salads. Such items shouldn't be eaten after the date even if they look and smell fine.

Best before dates signify when the item is no longer in optimum quality. Except in the case of eggs, they do not signify when food has gone off but can usually still be eaten with no ill-effects afterwards.

The three [unofficial] rules are, sight, smell, and taste. If the crisps look and smell OK they may actually be OK, and if they taste OK then they probably are. Open a packed and see if they look OK, then try one. The least they will be is stale if they are well past their best before date.

Eating out of date crisps won't do you any harm unless they've been contaminated by something.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/food-labelling-terms.aspx#use

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2012/06june/Pages/use-by-best-before-dates.aspx

Approved Food is one example of an online store that sells short dated and out of date stock that's discounted.

Free Food Saving Memo: Reminder to check before you chuck...