Check expiration dates before you buy!

[nuisance26]

~I just posted this on a thread but I thought it was worth mentioning here too.
Earlier this month I heard a CVS employee talking about being so short staffed that they couldn't keep up with rotating products to remove expireds and that they were getting complaints. I wondered if that was true in other places.
I also cleaned my small pantry and threw out a can of condensed milk I bought this year. It was dated 2006 which also got me thinking.
So the last time I went shopping I checked products for expiration dates and found expired items at several stores from August 2009 all the way back to 2006.
Stores are short-staffed and may not be able to keep up with pulling expired products so be a vigilant consumer!~

[hotprincesscm]

Thanks for the warning! I have noticed that alot around my area too. Especially in the natural/organic foods section, there is always expired stuff in there!

[Luckybustert]

Unless the can was bulging or damaged in some way, we would use the expired item. Have done this all our lives and no problem. A lot of the canned goods we see in salvage stores are either at or past their expiration. Now if it were a dairy product, different story....I do pay attention to the expiration dates on those. And I probably wouldn't eat the can of Spam hubby has from WWII (he was born in 1961 so it's approximately 20 years older than him). Nor would I eat twinkies of any age - anything that's got that much preservatives can't possibly be good for me

[Luckybustert]

Thanks for the warning! I have noticed that alot around my area too. Especially in the natural/organic foods section, there is always expired stuff in there!

If the expiration date were truly an indicator of whether something should or should not be consumed, wouldn't there be stricter laws about pulling the items off the shelfs with stiffer penalties for non-compliance?

Here's a really good article on this topic: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/food_ex...dates_faqs.asp

My husband tells me how his great-grandmother used to feed them pickles she canned that were 20 years old....a bit soggy, but other than that they tasted okay and no ill effects from having them (other than he now prefers his pickes extremely crisp...lol)

[stinkbug]

The salvage store in my area has LOTS of expired items on the shelves.....and I'm not impressed with the prices at all. I've only been there once.

[tervsforme]

I've noticed this as well. While I agree that most of the time the "Sell by" date or "Expiration Date" is just a guideline, I think you just need to use your own judgement if you want to eat something or not.

[savvy_sniper]

Info. I found on saved from a Google search about expiration dates.

"DATE DATA. The dates, for one, mean quite different things. For instance, "sell by" is more a guide for the store to know how long it can display a product for sale. The "best before" or "best if used by" date refers to a quality or flavor of the food. "Use by" works more like an expiration date, similar to that on medicines, and taking them after the date is not recommended."

"The Food & Drug Administration, which regulates packaged foods and drugs, only requires a use-by, or expiration, date on infant formula."

[Mom2-3]

I rotate our stockpile monthly. I grab what will expire in the month, put it on a shelf and use it through-out the month.

I always check the dates on food at the stores. I don't even know why I do it, it's just a weird habit

[Palooka]

I'm in the habit of checking dates because I've bought old stuff before and didn't realize it.

I've noticed it's worse at a health food store here.

[Jessesbride]

I rotate our stockpile monthly. I grab what will expire in the month, put it on a shelf and use it through-out the month.

I always check the dates on food at the stores. I don't even know why I do it, it's just a weird habit

I do this too!! LOL! BUT!!! The reason I do this is b/c there used to be several times that I would get something at the store get it home & then realized that it was WAY past exp. date~! UGGH!! & so I'd either have to go ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE STORE OR THROW IT OUT! So, now I check the dates b4 I even buy ANYTHING!

Also, I used to work in a school kitchen & learned to use the "oldest" first & that is what I've implemented at home... I put all pantry items on table (organize them) then pull any on shelves, put the ones just bought in the back & put the "old ones" in front. I no longer "find" things that have to be thrown out! Works like a charm!

Kim

[Josephhgoins]

This is a habit I developed. A couple of months abot I got some cheeto's at my local Food Lion that tasted "off". I checked the date and they were out by a few months. I now check everything.

[NikoSan999]

~I also cleaned my small pantry and threw out a can of condensed milk I bought this year. It was dated 2006 which also got me thinking.
So the last time I went shopping I checked products for expiration dates and found expired items at several stores from August 2009 all the way back to 2006.
Stores are short-staffed and may not be able to keep up with pulling expired products so be a vigilant consumer!~

Short staffed yes, but short staffed since 2006??? No one in the stores have had time to pull stuff since 2006??? Hmm...sounds more like at least some of the people weren't doing their job and got away with it.

When the new is unloaded and brought to the front and shelved...the older items to the front... then expired items should be removed then. Anywhere I've ever worked. Long before 3 years SOMEONE should have found them..That's lazy workers there for the short term.

[shoiji]

I check the expiration dates especially if I know it is for stockpiling. Always start to get confused in the beginning of the year since I am used to thinking good until 2010. Then I have to stop myself and think when is Febuary in 2010.

I was trying to stockpile on some rice milk, I kept on reaching back in the shelf to see if there were longer expiration dates. Unfortunately not in the yummy chocolate chia flavor.