My anger at supermarket chains

Also that other lot freegans or something like that also a bunch of bin divers.

[Druchii]

Originally Posted by WHISTLED

No they dont Arthur its illegal! They sell food about to expire, not yet expired.

I've bought tonnes of expired food, that was marked as "expired" for a very very reduced price. Think i once bought 1Kg total of Dairy Milk chocolate for about 20p. Took me all of 2 days to finish it, and apart from feeling sick and guilty, i was fine. (Didn't eat chocolate for months afterwards mind!)

Originally Posted by Druchii

I've bought tonnes of expired food, that was marked as "expired" for a very very reduced price. Think i once bought 1Kg total of Dairy Milk chocolate for about 20p. Took me all of 2 days to finish it, and apart from feeling sick and guilty, i was fine. (Didn't eat chocolate for months afterwards mind!)

As Zeph said, there is a big difference between 'best before' which is applied to things like biscuits, chocolate, frozen food, polo mints etc

and 'use by' which is applied to things like fresh/chilled ready meals, etc

Basically 'best before' means literally that, a biscuit past its 'best before' date isn't dangerous, it just might not taste as nice, be as crisp, etc

But food past a 'use by' date is potentially hazardous - i.e. may cause food poisoning, which is why it is illegal to sell - even at a reduced price.

Many food companies are doing lots of research into how to extend the 'shelf life' of chilled foods - most cooked & chilled ready meals have a life of about 6 days from manufacture, normally, but techniques such as using extremely high pressures or spraying with 'friendly' bacteria can extend that - and each day extra on the shelf is a further opportunity to sell it, rather than have to chuck it away

[Julian]

Originally Posted by foreverwar

Arthur, the supermarkets and other companies work with Fareshare to do what you said they didn't do.

Well a couple do

Their List

CMI
Co-op
EnAct
Credit Suisse
Deutsche Bank
Gist
Katsouris
Kraft
Nestle UK Ltd
Petit Forestier
Pret A Manger
Sainsbury's
Sodexho
Tesco
The Grocer
United Biscuits

asda dont, morrissons dont, netto,aldi,iceland dont. Still I'm sure the pathetic amounts passed on to Fareshare help those companies involved sleep easier in their beds.

[rogerdraig]

a lot of it used to go to feed animals but since BSE they havnt done so

i dont think the giving away thing would work either as some one pointed out people would wait just as they now do for the discount stickered food

they could cut back on stock but then if they ran out at any time there would be more shouts about that than any praise for ensuring no waste

though if we make sure we use up all what we buy the stock levels would get reduced as the shops noticed the lack of buying of that stuff

i see it more of a problem for us all than just the shops and belive me i am rarely on their side

On a related point, a third of the food we buy in the UK is thrown away.

WRAP
In total food waste in the UK is around 18 - 20 million tonnes, with household food waste making the single largest contribution (6.7 million tonnes).
Retailers are believed to generate about 1.6 million tonnes of food waste, food manufacturers about 3.5 million tonnes, with food service and restaurants producing about another 3 million tonnes. The remainder comes from the agricultural and horticultural sector, and commercial food waste (e.g. from hospitals, schools, etc).

[Arthurgray50@blu]

I applaud all the comments that have been made about my 'rave ' comments, and l also say thank you too Foreverwar, for his comments, but my annoyance goes to the sheer waste of food, that supermarkets throw away, that could go to good causes, l have actually, been in the West End in the middle of the night working, and l have seen the Sally Army, dishing out food, to the homeless, and the following day an oap getting nicked for stealing a loaf of bread, and the following minutes, the store throwing food, that could be eaten, by the homeless, too me it doesn't make sense, there are charities out there, that could use this produce, and that is my gripe.

[yorkshireborn]

store like M&S, Iceland, sell there frozen & fresh food that is close or out of date to a middle man who then repacks & re-dates it then sells it on again to stores like Jack Faultons and Heron who then sell it cheap.

Originally Posted by yorkshireborn

store like M&S, Iceland, sell there frozen & fresh food that is close or out of date to a middle man who then repacks & re-dates it then sells it on again to stores like Jack Faultons and Heron who then sell it cheap.

You cannot do that with 'fresh' food - i.e. it is illegal to change a 'use by' date - but frozen food is, as you say, often resold with a new 'best before', and I have seen operations where canned food has had new labels applied, also ...

M&S tend to sell their surplus chilled products to third parties after the 'display until' date, which usually gives a couple of days before the 'use by' - allowing for distribution, that usually means people buying the products right at the end of shelf life. There are no legal requirements for 'display until' labelling, but so long as the products are sold within the original 'use by' it is legal ..

My local Morrisons is bad for having mouldy food or opened/damaged packaging on their shelves. They need to pull their finger out and have someone constantly checking the shelves.

Many years ago, I did security for a Mr Kipling factory in the North West, They used to throw huge amounts of their produce away. Mainly because of damaged packaging, such as a slightly squashed box. It was padlocked in large cages so no one could get at it. (Maybe it was destined for Morrisons!)

[Vlad_Dracul]

Originally Posted by Arthurgray50@blu

I am sure that when people got to supermarkets, they often go to the 'discount ' section, but what l am starting this thread on, is the amount food products, each supermaket throws away EACH DAY, l entered a store today, and saw with my own eyes, this occuring, and when l spoke to the member of staff, he told me it was company policy. Why don't these stores on a daily basis, give these products to the needy, ie OAP's, the unemployed, and the needy, who don't have a home, l once saw an OAP, being arrested for stealing a loaf of bread, yet they were throwing bread away, in the bin, these stores make so much profit each year, what is a couple of quid to them, and before people say, about these products, l mean out of date stock, that they cannot sell, and yes stores do sell OOD stock, on discount shelfs.

Supermarkets are commercial enterprises. It would not make economic sense to give food away. People could always go dumpster diving round the back at closing time i suppose?

Of course before the era of "use buy" dates people shopped,cooked and got by very well. If i have stuff in my fridge thats passed its use by date i certainly dont bin it. 99% of the time its perfectly edible up to a week past that date.

People stockpile too much in their cupboards and fridges so its no wonder there is so much waste.

On another note,you mention "the needy". Who are they? Everyone who operates and lives under the umbrella in our society has a safety net and therefore there are no real needy. They may become a bit needy though if they do not balance their accounts very well.

Real need is to be found in countires where people are starving and/or diseased and there is no help to be had.

[WHISTLED]

People could always go dumpster diving round the back at closing time i suppose?

They do they are called freegans - Its theft though so its still illegal.

Originally Posted by WHISTLED

They do they are called freegans - Its theft though so its still illegal.

A good Freegan site here. I might just have to try this soon. It's a pity petrol doesn't have a sell-by date!

[Osem]

I'm no expert but I believe common sense is the problem here - there's not enough of it around! People throw away all sorts of perfectly edible food because they wrongly believe it's unfit due to either a sell by/use by date or because the food has been cooked and not all finished at one sitting. Sell by/use by dates are guides only and whilst some caution needs to be exercised when it comes to stuff like chicken, chilled meals etc. there's little risk if just 'out of date' food is properly stored, inspected and cooked.

Tins and dried foodstuffs last for years and whilst their flavour and nutritional content will be affected by age, eating a can of beans, soup etc. which is past its use by date is unlikely to pose a major risk to health.

It seems to me that the authorities have prescribed so many rules for so many things that people are becoming unable to think for themselves.

---------- Post added at 09:49 ---------- Previous post was at 09:48 ----------

Originally Posted by Enuff

It's a pity petrol doesn't have a sell-by date!

I think Gordon Brown has one though and he's well past it

"I think Gordon Brown has one though and he's well past it "

He was going off well before any date.