Warning Food Expiry Dates Again

[Digger]

A real big anoyance to me is selling food that is past its sell by date. Couple of months ago there was the thread about Yorkies stuff being couple of days past its sell by date up in Bangkok but this time I think I have found the worst example yet.

On display in the Aussie owned Foodmart supermarket in Jomtien are about 400 bags of imported crisps from Walkers and other companies all on a special offer. They have all had the expiry date removed except when you look on the Wotsits, because the expiry date is printed on shiny foil, it gets embossed, the ink had been scraped off but you could still just about see the expiry where its left a mark on the foil. The expiry date was June 2005 . Heavan only knows how old the other crisps are where they have been more adept at removing the expiry date.

So has anyone seen anything older than 4 months past its sell by date (other than the normal selection of women seen during the twilight hours on the beachfront )

[icecubes]

A real big anoyance to me is selling food that is past its sell by date. Couple of months ago there was the thread about Yorkies stuff being couple of days past its sell by date up in Bangkok but this time I think I have found the worst example yet.

On display in the Aussie owned Foodmart supermarket in Jomtien

You sure his an Aussie? thought he was a pom?

[astral]

Thanks for telling us.

We will not shop there.

[justsignedin]

Thanks for telling us.

We will not shop there.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

One more thing on yorkies, have yuo seen the price of a frozen tray of shepherds pie or fishermans pie, 180 baht and their is'nt even half a plate there. Can go and eat out in supposedly expensive restaurant for less than that and eat freshly cooked food. Come on who you trying to kid.

[justsignedin]

Thanks for telling us.

We will not shop there.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

One more thing on yorkies, have yuo seen the price of a frozen tray of shepherds pie or fishermans pie, 180 baht and their is'nt even half a plate there. Can go and eat out in supposedly expensive restaurant for less than that and eat freshly cooked food. Come on who you trying to kid.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Jeez these colours and fonts and everything else completely lose me. Like some of the prices round here.

[penzman]

Open all the bags on your next visit.

[monty]

Seems foodmart specializes in imported stuff...

Obviously this always turns out expensive, some of the times they have a hit when people have such a craving for the product they will buy whatever the price...

But I guess sometimes they have it wrong and end up with a product which is very expensive and nobody would want to buy anyway!.

There's so many crisps around in Thailand I can't see the point of trying to import these tiny Walkers bags (about 8 crisps in them) and then try to sell them at 60 Baht or something...

And yes, removing expired dates is just ###### bad practise...

I wouldn't be bothered much by crisps being past their sell date (although I do like to see the stamped date, so I at least know how much they weeks they are over), but lord knows the risk with other foodstuff such as meats etc...

[Mighty Mouse]

"Use by" dates don't necessarily mean that the product is unedible after that date.

Obviously a lot depends on the product. Crisps are in an airtight bag and should still be crispy when opened.

It would be interesting to know whether the supermarket in question bought the crisps from their supplier at a reduced price, knowing that the 'use by' date had already been exceeded.

[Digger]

A real big anoyance to me is selling food that is past its sell by date. Couple of months ago there was the thread about Yorkies stuff being couple of days past its sell by date up in Bangkok but this time I think I have found the worst example yet.

On display in the Aussie owned Foodmart supermarket in Jomtien

You sure his an Aussie? thought he was a pom?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I thought he was an Aussie but might be wrong - colour scheme of the shop (gold and green) just always makes me think of Australia rugby shirts !!!!

Incidentally, the chilled meat pies that are sold under their own name have no manufactured or best before date whatsoever. Must be their policy not to display such things and purely rely on mould determining the time to take the products of the shelves

[bartender100]

A real big anoyance to me is selling food that is past its sell by date. Couple of months ago there was the thread about Yorkies stuff being couple of days past its sell by date up in Bangkok but this time I think I have found the worst example yet.

On display in the Aussie owned Foodmart supermarket in Jomtien

You sure his an Aussie? thought he was a pom?

I thought he was an Aussie but might be wrong - colour scheme of the shop (gold and green) just always makes me think of Australia rugby shirts !!!!

Incidentally, the chilled meat pies that are sold under their own name have no manufactured or best before date whatsoever. Must be their policy not to display such things and purely rely on mould determining the time to take the products of the shelves

Your right,as much as I like the meat at Foodmart,the fresh lamb shanks are great value at B120.I will not buy the pies as a lot do not have sell by dates on them,this seems crazy.

The cornish pasties are very nice,and good value again at B60 for a big sized one.

And I'm sure he's Auzzie

[COBBER]

This is definately an aussie owned shop.

Were the Walkers crisps being sold at a discounted price ?

Personally i have no problem if items beyond the use by date are being sold at a discount and they are up front about it.

It does however look very suspect when the use by date has been tampered with.

Edited September 20, 2005 by COBBER

[Digger]

This is definately an aussie owned shop.

Were the Walkers crisps being sold at a discounted price ?

Personally i have no problem if items beyond the use by date are being sold at a discount and they are up front about it.

It does however look very suspect when the use by date has been tampered with.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They were on a special offer but no mention made that the reason its a special is because they are well past the sell by date.

[kurgen]

I can't say that I've ever heard a bad word said about any of the English ex pats out here. A finer bunch you could never meet

[Rinrada]

Tesco sees profits soar to £908m

No passed "sell by date" from this outfit.....

It seems that sales in Asia/LOS are UP by as much as 20%....@ Total of

give or take a satang...£2 big ones (not walkers )=...lot of bts.profit

Supermarket giant Tesco continued to put its rivals in the shade following an 18.7% rise in half-year profits to £908 million.

The group, which has more than 250,000 staff and around 1,780 stores in the UK, also reported a 14.1% jump in sales to £18.8 billion for the six months to August 13 as it bucked the downward trend elsewhere in the retail sector.

The figure for the UK was ahead 8.2% on a like-for-like basis.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Give the shop a B I G miss and tell everyone else you know

[tripperj]

sell by use by dates are only a guide line, they are required in EU on all food stuffs even ones the don't spoil unless contaminated. Westerners are obssesed with hygine cleanlyness and the quality of food. The best way to judge is to evalueante the freshness urself. The worst thing that could happen with "out of date" crisps/chips is the they might be a bit soggy.

[icecubes]

And I'm sure he's Auzzie

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ok I stand corrected his from Oz.

General comment for all

It’s a shame stuff like out of date food is on sale here.

This may well be a genuine mistake did anyone point this out to the guy or the staff?

I’m sure he would welcome your comments on this.

Its not fare to just bag a place that quick.

The shop has a good selection of western food and alcohol for sale,

not the cheapest but still good.

More than I can say for some other outlets people mention on this Forum.

Its also open 24hours a day in Jomtien, very handy.

Alcohol sale subject to some strange law about time of sale!!!!!

Keep shopping there and tell the guy about the pies.

Have a nice day

[americana]

Give the shop a  B I G  miss and tell everyone else you know

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[davethailand]

I bought 20 bags of crisps on sunday evening (no lie, pissed on the way home) they all tasted great.

A while back they were "specially priced to clear"

Its a good shop for certain products,

[johnh101]

Give the shop a  B I G  miss and tell everyone else you know

Seems a bit severe Doc !

Yes he is selling out of date foodstuffs, but it is only crips and he is selling them at a discount. No one has proved anything else is out of date...yet.

[banchang]

A realy interesting thing about Walkers and them thai crisps Lal, they have the same logo. Are they owened by the same company?

God this is sad isnt it!

[Digger]

I bought 20 bags of crisps on sunday evening (no lie, pissed on the way home) they all tasted great.

A while back they were "specially priced to clear"

Its a good shop for certain products, 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You have eaten all of them already Dave ?

20 bags in 2 days is pretty good going - have you got any left to check the sell by date on them?

You saying you bought them whilst P****d on the way home made me think back to buying burgers from the burger van parked outside the disco on a Saturday night - come to think of it they always tasted good at the time, but it was the next day when the burger sought its revenge

[cdnvic]

Give the shop a  B I G  miss and tell everyone else you know

Seems a bit severe Doc !

Yes he is selling out of date foodstuffs, but it is only crips and he is selling them at a discount. No one has proved anything else is out of date...yet.

If they were advertised as: "Expired use-by date, but cheap" then fair enough. Would you risk buying meat or seafood from anyone who hides expiry dates?

Dishonesty is dishonesty. If a dozen people read this and stop shopping there than these geniuses will have blown the "savings" on their mis-labeled foodstuffs many times over. It'll work best if you tell them you've stopped shopping there and why.

cv

[Pattaya_Fox]

This episode reminds me of a story told to me by a friend in the UK who was a Supermarket Manager for what is now one of the UK`s leading supermaket chains.

One day he received a Head Office memo from his entrepreneur owner boss:-

" You will soon receive a significant delivery of tinned goods. Please ensure that you have 10 staff available to work overtime on Thursday and Friday of this week as this product must go on sale by Saturday. Further instructions will follow."

The following day a massive consignment of small rusty tins with no labels attached was delivered and another memo arrived:-

"You should by now have received your consignment of goods. Further point of sale material and items for the preparation of the goods will arrive shortly."

Lo and behold on the Wednesday boxes of labels together with glue, rolls of fine wire wool and cleaning cloths arrived, with instructions:-

" It is imperative that the fine wire wool is used to remove all traces of the rust on the tins especialy in the corners After cleaning, the labels can then be fixed with the glue that has been provided and shelves must be stocked overnight on Friday. Please ensure that the large display posters are prominently displayed at the store entrance and throughout the store."

As instructed the staff worked long and hard to do as instructed.

The labels were for the supermarket`s own brand of salmon.

On the Friday my friend had a telephone call from his counterpart at another store, who told him that the salmon had been purchased as salvage from a ship that had capsized somewhere off the Spanish Coast.

The large bold promotional posters were displayed as ordered...and they read:-

VERY SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER.....

SALMON FRESH FROM THE SEA AT HALF PRICE!!

[dr_Pat_Pong]

This episode reminds me of a story told to me by a friend in the UK who was a Supermarket Manager for what is now one of the UK`s leading supermaket chains.

One day he received a Head Office memo from his entrepreneur owner boss:-

" You will soon receive a significant delivery of tinned goods.  Please ensure that you have 10 staff available to work overtime on Thursday and Friday of this week as this product must go on sale by Saturday. Further instructions will follow."

The following day a massive consignment of small rusty tins with no labels attached was delivered and another memo arrived:-

"You should by now have received your consignment of goods. Further point of sale material and items for the preparation of the goods will arrive shortly."

Lo and behold on the Wednesday boxes of labels together with glue, rolls of fine wire wool and cleaning cloths arrived, with instructions:-

" It is imperative that the fine wire wool is used to remove all traces of the rust on the tins especialy in the corners After cleaning, the labels can then be fixed with the glue that has been provided and shelves must be stocked overnight on Friday. Please ensure that the large display posters are prominently displayed at the store entrance and throughout the store."

As instructed the staff worked long and hard to do as instructed.

The labels were for the supermarket`s own brand of salmon.

On the Friday my friend had a telephone call from his counterpart at another store, who told him that the salmon had been purchased as salvage from a ship that had capsized somewhere off the Spanish Coast.

The large bold promotional posters were displayed as ordered...and they read:-

VERY SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER.....

SALMON FRESH FROM THE SEA AT HALF PRICE!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Truth in advertising

[fxm88]

Sometimes the check-out girls at Tops Supermarket will check the expiry date. If it's past-due they'll even go retrieve -- run, not walk -- one that's fresher. Tonight my checker-outer even exchanged one that wasn't expiring until tomorrow. Now that's service!

But I don't know why the old stuff is on the shelves at all. 7-11's seem particularly good at throwing out all the expired stuff, I always see them pulling stuff off the shelves. Maybe it's because they're fully computerized?

[fxm88]

This episode reminds me of a story told to me by a friend in the UK who was a Supermarket Manager...

Friend of a friend huh? How about this one, with documentation:

Cat food sold as tuna, 7th Heaven for shoppers

Imagine opening a can of tuna and finding yourself in seventh heaven -- 7th Heaven brand cat food.

The product was to be sold in the United States as 7th Heaven cat food, Ms [Lillian Aveta] said.

The decomposed tuna was labelled as four different brands -- Ocean King, IGA, Blue Bay and National. Some tuna labels were pasted on top of cat food labels.

Tainted tuna stock sold for humans 7 years later

More excerpts from the article

Cheeky Americans!

Edited October 4, 2005 by fxm88