Asda sold me expired food

[shikha]

Hi

Recently I bought some food from Asda and realized they sold me expired crisps, Yes one can say that I should have checked expiry date on the product before buying it, I generally do that for milk/meat etc but dont check it for every item I buy.

 

Around 1 year back they sold me expired milk as well, I did go back and filed a complaint at Asda but nothing really happened, One of manager there even said that few days dont make much difference.

 

Any ways, shall I file a complaint somewhere, is it worth it or just ignore them.

 

Regds

Shikha

[Michael Browne]

I'm sure they would exchange them if you feel that strongly, but hardly worth the effort, unless they are months beyond the best by date.

 

I doubt they would taste any different last week, or next week for that matter.

[Feebee_71]

I was sold a wine box which was on special offer and then had a further reduction as the box was shop soiled. When I got round to opening it about 10 days later it tasted odd and was a very dark colour for a chardonnay (similar in colour to a dessert wine!) I decided to check the box for problems and found an expiry date of September 2010 - this was in June 2011!

 

I returned it to the supermarket and was given a refund of the full offer price, not the soiled discounted price, and a replacement wine box of the same brand.

 

I think that, if the environmental health department of the local council were to have bought date expired food/drink products (even 1 day past use by/best before date) then the supermarket would come unstuck - why should a customer be treated any different?

 

I would take all expired products back and expect to get replacement plus, if a decent trader, some gesture of goodwill for the trouble taken to return the expired product to the store. If I was fobbed off by the staff (as with the comment about milk) then I would be off down to the local council to speak to envirnmental health team!

 

Feebee_71

[BazzaS]

"Expired" as in "best before" "use by" "sell by" or "display until"?.

Do you still have the package and your receipt?.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14925046 shows how there are plans to rationalise date labelling.

http://www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/environment/env-environmental-health/env-food-and-drink/env-food-complaints/env-food-safety-best-before-dates.htm shows one council's EH dept's views on enforcement action regarding dates, citing relevant legislation.

 

I'd expect (as a NON-expert) crisps to have a "best before" rather than a "use by" date.

I'd thus expect that for TS/ the EHO's to be interested in a prosecution that unless the crisps were significantly past their "best before" date that the onus would be on the consumer to show that the crisps had deteriorated enough to not be "of the quality demanded", rather than an assumption that this was the case.

The packaging and receipt might be useful if it was to come to legal proceedings.

 

I suspect you'd have had more success with persuing the milk (as a more perishable item) at the time, rather than these crisps.

 

You've reminded me of an episode from 20-years ago

I was at a small branch of a large chain, in the centre of London .... I picked up a tray of pre-packed meat, and it had a green sheen that suggested the start of bacterial slime / decomposition. I pointed this out to the (equally young as me) assistant, who fobbed me off, saying it was normal for that cut, and that as the package was intact and it was "within date", it was fine. (This, of course, ignores the fact that the dates rely on the meat being stored correctly, and what if it had been left out of cool storage, regardless of if that was by staff, or a customer - ever seen packs of meat on 'normal' shelves rather than the 'fridges, where someone has 'changed their mind' while going round the store?).

 

I replied "well, then, I'll take your word for it .... as I've finished my selections I'm headed for the tills now". "If I find it isn't fit for consumption when I get home, I'm informing the EHO's ..... you might want to ask your manager what they understand by 'strict liabilty offence' regarding food and its fitness for consumption, and why a court might regard the offence as being exacerbated by it not being under strict liability alone, if a staff member suggested the food could be sold even when the flaw was pointed out to them". And I was off towards the tills.

 

Cue rapid conversation of staff member with manager while I was waiting in the queue. Cue manager appearing to flail his arms in what semeed to be a passable impersonation of a windmill in a hurricane. Cue manager and sheepish member of staff rushing over to me, looking releived that I hadn't yet paid for the items, and a conversation that went along the lines of "we can't sell you that. In fact, if you try to take it through a till the staff will refuse to sell you that. Would you like to come back to the meat section and we'll tell you what we are going to do to resolve this".

The manager agreed (without prompting) with the point I made above re: the cool chain, and offered that though it might just have been this package left on a non-chilled shelf and later put back by another customer - where just this pack would be affected, that as he couldn't be sure how / where the failure had happened, they were going to clear off that chiller "as the safety and quality of the food we sell is paramount".