Have you ever purchased an item at the grocery store, only to come home to realize that the product has already exceeded its expiration date? Obviously, that should never happen, as stores are supposed to rotate their stock regularly, bringing the older items to the front so they can be purchased first. But many stores fail to keep up with their stock rotation, which can result in you purchasing an already spoiled or on the verge of spoiling product.
With some food items, dates aren’t as important as others. For example, day old breads are almost always still relatively fresh or at least usable, and if they aren’t molded, should be safe to use. Other products should never be purchased after their expiration date printed on the package.
The other day I was at my local grocer and noticed a sale on Greek yogurt. As I began searching through the vanilla containers, I found that every one of them was set to expire the following day. Since it was a perishable dairy product, I decided to pass. I have also found other dairy products sold beyond their expiration date, such as cheeses. Many years ago, I found infant cereal that had expired two months before, which really upset me because the baby could get sick, and just the fact that they would sell outdated food items for young babies really upset me.
Yes, this should be the store’s responsibility to see that the food items they are selling to their customers are all fresh and edible, or at the very minimum, not already expired and still sitting on the shelf for purchase. But since many stores seem to fail to uphold this responsibility, it’s up to you and I, the consumers, to check those expiration dates while still in the store, to ensure we are buying safe, quality products for our family.
I have noticed expired items still on the shelves, even perishable meat items such as hotdogs, at several well respected grocery store chains.This is a classic example of “Let the buyer beware!” So, on your next grocery shopping trip, keep your eyes open and check those expiration dates. If you find something outdated, point it out to a member of the store’s staff, and you just might notice some changes if enough people point this kind of thing out.