Expired food!

[JulieDB]

Now I am getting tired of this.

We were in Walmart on Dec. 31st and they had some biscuits and gravy that had expired on Dec. 28. Okay. I know this happens probably at all stores at some time or other. I let it go.

Today we finally got out after being snowed in for a week. I was happy when I saw the full produce section because the last time we were in (on the day the snow started) they didn't have any of the produce we wanted. The entire section was empty.

But the sliced apples? All of them expire today. Fine. I'm sure there will be somebody who will be okay with this. But we can't eat a whole bag of apples today.

Then on to the Bob Evan's mashed potatoes. They expired on Jan 15th! And the section was full of the old product.

I wound up paying over $2.00 more per package at Albertsons for the potatoes and I dislike having to do that. I got no apples because Albertsons has done away with a whole produce displayer and it would seem they no longer carry the apples. They have expanded their gluten free section into the spot where the produce used to be. So that's good for us.

But... Does your Walmart routinely put out expired food? Our grocery section is pretty new so maybe they just don't have the kinks worked out.

[Mermanity27]

today at Walgreens I found 10 plus packages of expired triaminic. I gathered them up and brought them to the front and told them I am sure glad I check expiration dates. They expire 11/2011...not good.

[everprincess]

I bought (totally by mistake too btw) Hungry Jack Instant Mashed Potatoes at Bi-Lo the other week. They expired back in March of 2011. I think most stores don't pay attention to dates at all. I've seen peelies on frozen food at Food Lion that expired back in 2009.

[JulieDB]

today at Walgreens I found 10 plus packages of expired triaminic. I gathered them up and brought them to the front and told them I am sure glad I check expiration dates. They expire 11/2011...not good.

I once bought some sort of health item at Albertsons in CA that was expired. I want to say that it was eye drops but I can't remember. The price was around $30 so maybe not eye drops. Just after my husband pulled out of the parking lot I realized they were expired by a year! There was another box on the shelf that was also expired. So they didn't question me when I returned them. But I hated to have to go all the way back to take them back.

We try to be very careful now after having been burned a couple of times at Costco and too many times to count at Albertsons.

I guess this just bugs me because I used to have the food department when I worked at K Mart. Granted we didn't sell perishables but I was always on the lookout for expired products.

Actually we were on the lookout for them all over the store. We had to stay late at night or come in early just to straighten the store. Everyone was assigned two aisles which were not necessarily in their own department. It was our job to keep them front faced and neat. We knew to check for expiration dates then. And when we filled the shelves we knew to pull the old stock forward, check the dates and remove anything we found that was expired.

I guess because we were so careful with this, I assumed other stores would be too. But apparently not.

[JulieDB]

I bought (totally by mistake too btw) Hungry Jack Instant Mashed Potatoes at Bi-Lo the other week. They expired back in March of 2011. I think most stores don't pay attention to dates at all. I've seen peelies on frozen food at Food Lion that expired back in 2009.

I bought a hair product at Rite Aid a few weeks ago and in it was a coupon to be used for your next purchase and it expired in 2009. Oddly there was no expiration date on the product itself And the box didn't look shopworn or dusty. So it makes me wonder how old it really was.

[Justmeinflorida]

OMG!!! I just did my shopping for the week & now I need to go check all the expiration dates....ugggg! I have to admit I don't check, I just assume that my store won't sell me something expired...I guess I'm gonna be checking everything Thanks for the eye opener.

[everprincess]

Everything I bring in the house gets marked with expiration dates via a Sharpie. This way we rotate everything. That's how I saw the expiration date on the mashed potatoes I didn't even mean to buy.

[JessicaComstock]

Me and my husband went to hyvee and bought creamer and got home it was over a month expired so I called the store and they said they would take it off the shelf and when i went back it was still there.So i got someone and told them what happen and said they are still there.The same thing with lunch meat happen and if someone ate this without looking they would end up getting really sick.Lisa my grandpa does not pay attention to that.....All store need to pay more attention to the dates on all items when they are stocking.....

[foggierbard9]

When I find expired stuff I notify whoever is the manager of the area and i send an email. Most if not all stores go through each department once a week to clear out the expired stuff, but stuff does get missed....I am more bothered when I find stuff that expired months ago rather than stuff that expires the day i am there or a few days prior.

[MizMoneyPenny]

Unless it's fish, poultry, pork, meat or dairy, I don't care. I have been told this by knowledgeable people, and I posted this from WebMD elsewhere here:

Do Food Expiration Dates Really Matter?

Experts provide a guide to the variety of confusing 'freshness' dates on food.
By Star Lawrence
WebMD Feature
Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD



You open the fridge, drag out the cottage cheese, check for fur, and if there isn't any, you say, "Honey? Will you sniff this?" This is not, however, the approved method of checking for freshness. The approved way lies in a voluntary system of labeling.
Yes, voluntary. The only items required by federal law to be labeled for expiration are infant formula and some baby foods; some states also mandate pulling dairy from store shelves on the expiration date.
Learn the Lingo of Expiration Dates

This brings us to terminology. The actual term "Expiration Date" refers to the last date a food should be eaten or used. Last means last -- proceed at your own risk.
Other, more commonly spotted terms are:

• "Sell by" date. The labeling "sell by" tells the store how long to display the product for sale. You should buy the product before the date expires. This is basically a guide for the retailer, so the store knows when to pull the item. This is not mandatory, so reach in back and get the freshest. The issue is quality of the item (freshness, taste, and consistency) rather than whether it is on the verge of spoiling. Paul VanLandingham, EdD, a senior faculty member at the Center for Food and Beverage Management of Johnson& Wales University in Providence, R.I., tells WebMD the "sell by" date is the last day the item is at its highest level of quality, but it will still be edible for some time after.
• "Best if used by (or before)" date. This refers strictly to quality, not safety. This date is recommended for best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date. Sour cream, for instance, is already sour, but can have a zippier, fresh taste when freshly sour (if that's not an oxymoron!)
• "Born on" date. This is the date of manufacture and has been resurrected recently to date beer. Beer can go sub-par after three months. "It is affected by sun," VanLandingham says. The light can reactivate microorganisms in the beer. That's why you have to be especially careful with beer in clear bottles, as opposed to brown or green.
• "Guaranteed fresh" date. This usually refers to bakery items. They will still be edible after the date, but will not be at peak freshness.
• "Use by" date. This is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. The date has been determined by the manufacturer of the product.
• "Pack" date. You will find this one on canned or packaged goods, as a rule, but it's tricky. In fact, it may be in code. It can be month-day-year-MMDDYY. Or the manufacturer could revert to the Julian calendar. January would then be 001-0031 and December 334-365. It gets even weirder than that.

How Long Are Foods OK to Eat?

If you are not up on your Julian calendar and dating seems sort of a hodgepodge, how about memorizing some basic rules?

• Milk. Usually fine until a week after the "Sell By" date.
• Eggs. OK for 3-5 weeks after you bring them home (assuming you bought them before the "sell by" date). VanLandingham says double-grade As will go down a grade in a week but still be perfectly edible.
• Poultry and seafood. Cook or freeze this within a day or two.
• Beef and pork. Cook or freeze within three to five days.
• Canned goods. Highly acidic foods like tomato sauce can keep 18 months or more. Low-acid foods like canned green beans are probably risk-free for up to five years. "You do not want to put cans in a hot place like a crawl space or garage," Peggy VanLaanen, EdD, RD, a professor of food and nutrition at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, tells WebMD. She suggests keeping canned and dry food at 50 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit in a dry, dark place. Humidity can be a factor in speeded-up deterioration. The FDA notes that taste, aroma, and appearance of food can change rapidly if the air conditioning fails in a home or warehouse. Obviously, cans bulging with bacteria growth should be discarded, no matter what the expiration date!

Food Safety Tips

Since product dates don't give you a true guide to safe use of a product, here are some other tips from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Services:

• Purchase the product before the date expires.
• If perishable, take the food home immediately after purchase and refrigerate it promptly. Freeze it if you can't use it within times recommended on the chart.
• Once a perishable product is frozen, it doesn't matter if the date expires because foods kept frozen continuously are safe indefinitely.
• Follow handling recommendations on product.

 Storage Times After PurchasePoultry1 or 2 daysBeef, Veal, Pork, and Lamb3 to 5 daysGround Meat and Ground Poultry1 or 2 daysFresh Variety Meats (Liver, Tongue, Brain, Kidneys, Heart, Chitterlings)1 or 2 daysCured Ham, Cook-Before-Eating5 to 7 daysSausage from Pork, Beef or Turkey, Uncooked1 or 2 daysEggs3 to 5 weeks

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When Do Other Vital Items Go Bad?

The FDA does require that drugs carry an expiration date. Alan Goldhammer, PhD, associate vice president for regulatory affairs of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), tells WebMD that safety, purity, and potency must be tested and established over time by drug manufacturers. If a drug says the expiration date is 18 months hence, it means these three qualities can only be guaranteed that long, assuming the drug is stored properly.
When Do Other Vital Items Go Bad? continued...

Some critics have accused drug manufacturers of hyping these dates to encourage more drug sales. Goldhammer implies that some drugs may be OK longer than noted, but the manufacturers have not done, say, a 10-year study of how long the drug is good. "They try to establish a reasonable date to allow for time in the supply chain and pharmacy shelves," he says.
The chemicals in drugs do break down and change over time, becoming more potent (or poisonous) or ineffective. "One of the worst places to store them," Goldhammer offers, "is in the medicine cabinet, which can be hot and humid. Consumers should not let drugs sit around. Why do you think most companies sell them a month or at most three months ahead of time?"
VanLandingham also notes that humidity can hurt drugs. "That's why they have cotton in them," he explains.
What about condoms, where a misjudgment could be disastrous? All condoms, the FDA says, have either an expiration or a manufacturing date. They should not be used beyond the expiration date -- more than five years after the date of manufacture.
The sweetener aspartame, another common item often found in sodas, does break down and become icky-tasting, so don't buy or drink old products containing it.
Stretching the Expiration Date Through Proper Storage

VanLandingham is picky about letting food get too hot. The "temperature danger zone" is between 41 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Food needing refrigeration should be kept below 41 degrees. On the loading dock, in the car, on the kitchen table, it should not be outside of that temperature for more than four hours total. You have no idea how long it may have been subjected to higher temperatures before you buy it, so you need to minimize the "standing" factor after you get it.
"One of the biggest mistakes consumers make is lag time," VanLaanen agrees. For details, she highly recommends Safe Home Food Storage, a Texas A&M book available from tcebookstore.org.
VanLandingham also warns that most fridges usually aren't holding at 41 degrees or less. "Don't forget recovery time," he says. That's the time it takes to recool after you stand there trying to find a cold beer or decide whether anyone will miss the last piece of cake.
Milk should be kept at 38 degrees, fish at 32 degrees. The drawers and shelves have different temperatures, thus the term "meat drawer."
VanLaanen urges consumers to scribble on their own date of purchase, even on canned goods.
Don't be too cautious. "Some people keep apples five days and go, "Oops, time to go,'" VanLandingham says. "They may still be in mint condition."
He recommends using your senses (this would be the "Honey, sniff this" thing) to decide if an item is fresh.
Stretching the Expiration Date Through Proper Storage continued...

Oh, and that insufferable air-tight packaging? It has a use beyond building character in those attempting to remove it. "This can double shelf life," VanLandingham says. "The item will be good as the day it was packaged."
Star Lawrence is a medical journalist based in the Phoenix area.



View Article Sources
SOURCES: Paul VanLandingham, EdD, senior faculty member, Center for Food and Beverage Management, Johnson & Wales University, Providence, R.I. Peggy VanLaanen, EdD, RD, professor, food and nutrition, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. Alan Goldhammer, PhD, associate vice president for regulatory affairs, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Washington, D.C. "Don't Cry Over Expired Milk," Wall Street Journal, April 13, 2004. FDA. U.S. Department of Agriculture.


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