Emporium Gourmet Market

[Crip]

Hi All,

Thought that this would be the best place to ask a question about The Emporium Gourmet Market on Level 4 of the Emporium Shopping Centre.

Today I was strolling through the lanes at the above mentioned market and decided to purchase some prosciutto that looked quite nice, a large sign was advertising the price at 185 baht which seemed reasonable so I decided to buy the meat for an enjoyable snack this evening.

When I opened the packet, the start of the slices was quite nice, but further down toward the end and upon further inspection, to my disgust, the meat was quite rancid.

It was then that I decided to look at the price of the meat which showed 312 baht well above the price on the sign; this I could begrudgingly accept as I probably should have argued this at checkout instead of mindlessly handing over the bahts.

I then proceeded to look at the expiry date which reads "Best Before 6/7" ie today. Ok, well maybe this is just a bad batch. It was then that I decided to peal the expiry sticker off which revealed a second expiry date underneath, 26/6/2015 which was ten days ago. (See attached photos)

Could it be possible that someone deliberately attempted to conceal the real expiry date with a false one?

[Thian]

So the label even doesn't tell the weight of the ham?

Well very unproffessional, i call this cheating the masterclass. I would bring it back though and that would be my last visit to that shop.

I allready boycot this Tops. Sometimes i ran in there and grabbed some stuff like avocado or a box of strawberry's. Then at the cashier they sent me back to get the price for my avocado. Then you have to find the girl from the fruitdepartment and let her put the sticker on it, yeah right. Then they can keep all unpriced articles and i 'm out of there.

You always have to be very carefull at thai butchers, even in the most expensive hi-so shops of Thailand. They use plastic gloves to grab the meat but then also use those gloves to grab the plastic bags and pack it for you. That's pure ignorance i guess, it clearly shows that they don't know what they're doing.

Anyway, if you don't complaint it will never change.

Maybe this ham was frozen so that's why they put a new sticker on it. But i don't understand why those butchers don't use a digital scale who can print. Than the label will show the weight, price, date, expiry date, barcode. Even in Gourmet market they don't have them but they dare to ask double European prices there.

[HeijoshinCool]

Wow. Even in a classy place like Emporium. I must admit I'm surprised.

Thanks for posting that where many can become aware.

I'd take it back to the general manager.

[CharlieH]

MOVED to Food

[canopy]

Several years ago Villa was caught selling food with deliberately altered expiration dates. After clear evidence like yours was brought to their attention they told a staff person not to do it anymore. No reprimand. No one got fired. Lots of people bought bad food. Not surprised to see it happening elsewhere as there seems to be no accountability.

[h90]

Several years ago Villa was caught selling food with deliberately altered expiration dates. After clear evidence like yours was brought to their attention they told a staff person not to do it anymore. No reprimand. No one got fired. Lots of people bought bad food. Not surprised to see it happening elsewhere as there seems to be no accountability.

It is OK to change the expiration date, in my country that is complete legal. Even for medication it is possible.

What is the problem with it if the product is OK?

[NickJ]

Crip...Did you go back?... I would, I have done so at the Villa on 35.........

[canopy]

What is the problem with it if the product is OK?

I'll go out on a limb here and say they have no idea if it is OK or not, there is no scientific testing going on to prove it is OK, and they aren't getting any approval from the manufacturer to do this. So it's just fraudulent marketing to salvage food going bad and fool customers into thinking they are getting a deal. In my country, they could get shut down for this. Lying and not caring if customers get sick is a seriously bad business strategy.

[Stan42]

Thanks for pointing this out to us OP. Fortunately I eat out all the time. Still, seeing something like this happen at the Emporium is quite disturbing. If I were you I'd assemble all the proof and contact management. Threaten them with exposing them to the public.

A few years ago, before the renovation, a Thai guy wrote on his blog that he had a great meal for lunch, then went on to do some shopping. A few hours later he experienced nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. A few weeks later he posted the name of the establishment: Emporium.

[MickeyM]

Most vendors in the deli area of Emporium are outsourced. Of course, that does not absolve Emporium of responsibility.

[h90]

What is the problem with it if the product is OK?

I'll go out on a limb here and say they have no idea if it is OK or not, there is no scientific testing going on to prove it is OK, and they aren't getting any approval from the manufacturer to do this. So it's just fraudulent marketing to salvage food going bad and fool customers into thinking they are getting a deal. In my country, they could get shut down for this. Lying and not caring if customers get sick is a seriously bad business strategy.

A supermarket in Europe also doesn't do some scientific testing or ask the manufacturer. They just look at it. I don't like aged food, but I don't see something very bad here as well. Proscuitto can be stored for a very long time without any risk.....

Producing it needs 2 years, so a few days more or less don't make a difference.

[meatboy]

What is the problem with it if the product is OK?

I'll go out on a limb here and say they have no idea if it is OK or not, there is no scientific testing going on to prove it is OK, and they aren't getting any approval from the manufacturer to do this. So it's just fraudulent marketing to salvage food going bad and fool customers into thinking they are getting a deal. In my country, they could get shut down for this. Lying and not caring if customers get sick is a seriously bad business strategy.

A supermarket in Europe also doesn't do some scientific testing or ask the manufacturer. They just look at it. I don't like aged food, but I don't see something very bad here as well. Proscuitto can be stored for a very long time without any risk.....

Producing it needs 2 years, so a few days more or less don't make a difference.

i too have been very suspicious when you see labels over labels and not being able to peel them off.what worries me more is packed meats cooked or uncooked that are kept in refridgerated units that are switched off overnight,and are full of liquid next day.

one thing that must be confuseing to thai's is,BEST BEFORE DATE and USE BY DATE.

[tx22cb]

One date is definitely the Best Before, but I suspect the other (untitled) date is the packed/Manuf Date?

185 Baht price - was that the price per 100 g, and the actual 312 Baht price = the price of that pack (about 169 g)?

And Post #2 - this is not Tops, but Gourmet Market (they are not the same entity).