Do you check expiration dates at the store?

[daughtersrus]

I always check the dates on refrigerated products and routinely take from the back but I don't think that I've ever checked the dates on shelf or freezer items. There have been a few articles recently about Dominicks, Chicago area store owned by Safeway, selling outdated products. Although I rarely shop there, I'm sure that I'll pay more attention to dates the next time I go shopping.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...tion-dates-dates-on-food-products-food-safety

 

[DisneyNutMary]

I do check dates of all products- dry groceries (cereal, pasta, rice, etc) also have expiration dates. You have to check candy at the check out carefully too- you'd be surprised how slowly that stuff moves.

If you are ever in a store where very many products are out of date, you might want to place a call to the Dept of Agriculture, they are the agency that checks these things- usually 4 or 5 times a year depending on the area.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Always. I also look in the back to get a better date. It is one of my "things".

 

[RachaelA]

Always. I also look in the back to get a better date. It is one of my "things".

I do the same thing with perishable items. DH thinks I'm crazy because I dig around for the best date.

 

[Allison]

Yes, I do.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

I had to laugh at this thread. Are there any fans of the movie Clerks out there? I instantly thought of the Milk maids.

Here's the conversation they have about people they hate at their store, it's pretty funny. I've actually seen shoppers at the grocery store putting milk on the floor as they pull every gallon off the shelf.

Dante: "Well, I guess it isn't customers in particular. Maybe just a group of customers."
Randal: "Well, let's hear it."
Dante: "Well, the milk maids."
Randal: "The milk maids?"
Dante: "The women that go through every gallon of milk, looking for that later date as if somewhere beyond all the other gallons, is a container of milk that won't go bad for like a decade."

ETA: Most of those dates are "best by" dates, which doesn't mean they have gone bad. All it means is that after that date the food may no longer meet the standards of quality that the company would normally stand behind. In other words, it is still very edible.

 

[Fantasmic23]

Constantly. Like another poster mentioned, it's one of my "things". I'm like the Milk Maid in the movie "Clerks" ... Pulling out all the milks, searching for the latest expiration date.

 

[Fantasmic23]

I had to laugh at this thread. Are there any fans of the movie Clerks out there? I instantly thought of the Milk maids.

Here's the conversation they have about people they hate at their store, it's pretty funny. I've actually seen shoppers at the grocery store putting milk on the floor as they pull every gallon off the shelf.



ETA: Most of those dates are "best by" dates, which doesn't mean they have gone bad. All it means is that after that date the food may no longer meet the standards of quality that the company would normally stand behind. In other words, it is still very edible.

Big fan of "Clerks" and I'm a big Milk Maid, too. In fact, before I saw that you had typed this response, I posted about "Clerks". I don't perform endurance tests on eggs, though. I'll leave that to the school guidance counselors.

 

[java]

Our local quick mart kind of place at a gas station had pie crusts- which I ran in to buy this past holiday- I looked at the date and couldn't believe it! It had expired in 2006! 4 years ago!

 

[LuvOrlando]

I had to laugh at this thread. Are there any fans of the movie Clerks out there? I instantly thought of the Milk maids.

Here's the conversation they have about people they hate at their store, it's pretty funny. I've actually seen shoppers at the grocery store putting milk on the floor as they pull every gallon off the shelf.



ETA: Most of those dates are "best by" dates, which doesn't mean they have gone bad. All it means is that after that date the food may no longer meet the standards of quality that the company would normally stand behind. In other words, it is still very edible.

Yes, I do check and I am a huge Kevin Smith fan, the rant over milk cracked me up and I think about it every time I pull milk from the back but it doesn't stop me from doing it. He's funniest doing this stuff, I hope he bails on being commercial, it doesn't suit him at all.

On a serious note, I will totally narc on a store that puts out of date dairy on its shelves, not because of me because I look but because busy parents who don't look could give it to kids who can get sick. Last year a local Giant in a poorer section of town did this with 2 products so I took pictures of the packages on the shelves, stopped to tell the customer service rep to expect calls from the companies because I was reporting them, went home & reported them. Breakstones was not at all happy, I got an apology call from the DM who was steamed.

 

[Rora]

Always. I also look in the back to get a better date. It is one of my "things".

Me too. DH thinks I'm crazy but I always take the item furthest in the back and definitely inspect for damage!

 

[Fantasmic23]

Our local quick mart kind of place at a gas station had pie crusts- which I ran in to buy this past holiday- I looked at the date and couldn't believe it! It had expired in 2006! 4 years ago!

Gross! Another poster mentioned the importance of checking the expiration on candy. I couldn't agree more. There's nothing like buying a maggot-filled box of Raisenettes.

 

[Fantasmic23]

He's funniest doing this stuff, I hope he bails on being commercial, it doesn't suit him at all.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

I do, ever since early 2008 when I pulled a frozen meal out of the case at my grocery store...the box felt warped, so I checked the date. Its best-by date was 2005.

 

[linnell]

I bought gas drops for my infant from Target and got home and realized it had expired 8 months prior. I went back to the store and went through all the gas drops on the shelf and all had various dates well past expiration. I gathered them up and brought them to the pharmacist.

I'm sorry, but there is no excuse for a store to sell expired OTC medicine! Especially one geared towards babies.

 

[MushyMushy]

Oh yes, I definitely look at expiration dates, and try to pick out the best one. I just had this conversation the other day. My husband and I went to a local deli and the sour cream she gave me had expired the week prior. She was very apologetic and felt bad because the entire case was expired and she had just bought it.

I told her our stores are notoriously bad for selling way expired products, so it's now ingrained in me to look.

 

[cm8]

I bought gas drops for my infant from Target and got home and realized it had expired 8 months prior. I went back to the store and went through all the gas drops on the shelf and all had various dates well past expiration. I gathered them up and brought them to the pharmacist.

I'm sorry, but there is no excuse for a store to sell expired OTC medicine! Especially one geared towards babies.

I know that's right/ I had the same thing happen to me when I went to the Naval exchange to purchase some Tylenol for my DD and all of them were expired. I took them all to the front desk cashier and she said that they would fix it.

Came back on my break to see if they had replaced it with new product (claimed more was in the back) and when I went to the baby section to get it from the shelf, it was the same exact product with the same expired date of 2006.

I requested the manager and let her have it. She then had the nerve to say that she was not aware. Told her that this is her store and she is responsible for knowing the expiration date of everything in this place down to the plants she allows to be displayed at the NEX.

Had that happened at the NHC where I worked, someone who have been reassigned and or fired if they were not Military I ended up having to get my Mom to bring my DD to me at work and getting her a strip for some from the Pharmacy

DId I mention that when It went back the next day they had replaced the same product back on the shelf AGAIN? Really? Did they really think I wouldn't be coming back so soon? I called the Commander of the NEX and he came and I explained to him what happened and he was . He got the SM and she replied that she was not aware the product was placed back on the self yeah right. It was corrected the next time we went in


I can't stand when stores. pharmacies, Doctor offices, and the likes do not take the time to rotate their stocks and give people bad products.
I think most of them deliberately do it because some people don't pay attention to what they are purchasing. It just takes a second and sometimes it may save your life

 

[sbell111]

Dairy, I check. Nothing else.

I don't check the dates on the junk that I pull out of our pantry either.

 

[dislaney]

Dairy and bread. I guess I really should be checking more products though.

 

[luvmy3jewels]

I always check for dairy and bread products, but recently learned you really need to check almost everything you buy. I bought (for ds to give to a friend) a box of chocolates from Hallmark in mid-January. After he gave them to her on Valentines day, she tried one and noticed it tasted funny. She looked on the bottom of the package and found that they had expired last September!! I guess Hallmark wasn't able to sell them last Valentines Day, so they put them out again for this one without ever checking for expiration dates.