Is it legal for shops to sell out of date stock?

[PaulB]

Our erm... I'll call it a corner shop to avoid getting in to any trouble always sells out of date stock. For example. Today my girlfriend bought a bottle of Dr Pepper and it was dated 06/03/2011. That's 14 days out of date. This isn't the first time this has happened. They also have mars bars and things months out of date.

Is this legal?

[kuzkasate]

Yeah its illegal. I was at work experience the other week and had to get rid of all out of date crisps because it was illegal to sell them.

[wixard]

i dunno i dont complain
our corner shop sells like 4 chocolate bars for a euro and theres a sign beside it 'only the ones in this section please'
hahahaha you look at the date and they're either expiring in the next few days or been expired a few days

[-:Undertaker:-]

Silly though, to be fair your girlfriend should have checked the date before buying. (if she did, nevermind). But i'd avoid getting the shop in trouble for something you can so easily check yourself, and besides - our teacher used to sell us all out of date biscuits for buttons, perfectly fine. :P

[Circadia]

As long as they reduce the price and not considerably over date, then i think its fine to sell them.

[Martin]

I work in a supermarket, and we're not allowed to sell out of date food to the public (although some occasionally slip through), however they do sell quite a lot of it to staff (put it in the canteen at a very reduced price for us to buy)

[redtom]

I work in a supermarket, and we're not allowed to sell out of date food to the public (although some occasionally slip through), however they do sell quite a lot of it to staff (put it in the canteen at a very reduced price for us to buy)

The same happens where I work.

I'm pretty sure you can still sell the stock at a reduced price as long as its clear that the stock is out of date. Most of the bigger supermarkets don't tend to do this as they can afford to sell it off else where or scrap it, allot of the smaller newsagents tend to have them baskets full of out of date drinks for half the price.

[Misawa]

It is illegal for shops to sell products past their "use by" dates, but it's perfectly legal to sell stock past their "best before" dates, though most shops have their own policies about the latter.

[myke]

fizzy drinks hardly have a use by date, it's fizzed, compressed in a can and full of sugar.........

[Catzsy]

You need to call Trading Standards - they would be on them like a ton of bricks.

[Marbian]

My sister works in Tesco, and they HAVE to get rid of stuff thats like a day near to out of date or somethin... but i guess it's illegal, because im sure businesses would carry on selling them if it was legal to do so.

[tdi]

you can sell stuff that's out of date as long as you clearly indicate that it's out of date. don't go to the bother of complaining to anyone though, everything is in sealed packets and it's not going to kill you if it's two weeks out of date.

people saying Tesco etc HAVE to get rid of stock is purely down to company policy.

[Richie]

It's illegal but who cares most of the time you're getting a bargain. Mistakes happen, if you don't like it request for the food to be removed as it's out of date. If they say no then you can get in contact with health and safety.

People seem to think that food will go off the specific date on the label, you need to remember company's who create these products most definitely set the dates back a good few weeks before the food actually isn't safe to eat. It's just so people can't sue their asses. Most food that is out of date by a week or two is normally fine once stored correctly. Unless it's meats, the dates on meats are pretty much the correct date labelled as it would be easier to define when a piece of meat will actually go off, after all meat does only last a week max (unfrozen).

[Samantha.]

I work in a supermarket, and we're not allowed to sell out of date food to the public (although some occasionally slip through), however they do sell quite a lot of it to staff (put it in the canteen at a very reduced price for us to buy)

This is similar to where I work except we get the stuff for free, some things they try and sell if they have only just out of date by reducing them and putting a sign there so customers know!

[paddy140]

Yes It Is!

[Kronics]

That shop can get closed down selling out of date stock, not a good shop.....

[Inseriousity.]

Tescos and other big brand supermarkets can probably afford to chuck away out of date stock whereas small businesses can't so they're a little more relaxed when selling out of date products. Personally I've eaten lots of 'best before' things that have tasted fine... and they were cheaper woo :D

[N!ck]

As long as they clearly advertise it as such then it's fine . Also, there's a difference between best before and use by. They're not allowed to sell stuff past it's use by date I don't think.

[Oleh]

The sandwhich i get at dinner is usually reduced due to it being best before the date i buy it

[-:Undertaker:-]

Why are people in this thread wanting to get a business into trouble for something thats more or less harmless, if you dont like it then dont go that shop - or even better, use the pair of eyes you have and look at the dates on food whenever you buy from anywhere.

If it concerns you that much, simply read the date on the packet.

[tdi]

^ exactly. small businesses don't make a huge amount of profit. you won't get anything out of it if you complain and get them shut down or fined. They're just trying to make a living like everybody else and you need to realise people make MISTAKES. it's easy to let something go out of date without noticing. Why not just mention that it's out of date and I'm sure they'll withdraw the item and apologise. I like how quick people are to pin the blame on people nowadays. 'oh, this isn't right. go the most extreme way about things!'

It's a bottle of Dr. Pepper. Seriously, this is a mass produced drink which is compressed and sealed with various gases to help preserve the product. It's two weeks out of date, not two years. I could practically guarantee that you could open that bottle in a year and it would still taste exactly the same and not harm you. It's not a bottle of milk.

People need to get their facts right before they post left right and centre. As some people who are actually correct have said, it is legal for shops to sell items past their BEST BEFORE date, but not after their USE BY date.

[Stephen]

i dunno i dont complain
our corner shop sells like 4 chocolate bars for a euro and theres a sign beside it 'only the ones in this section please'
hahahaha you look at the date and they're either expiring in the next few days or been expired a few days

I always go to the expiring in a few days section or whatever it's called in shops. If you're gonna have like something for dinner that night then you can buy it for more than half price if it's going out of date the next day or something. Plus they do it with the expensive stuff too so cheap delicious dinners for all wooo

[Thomas]

if they point out that its out of date with a sign or it has money off then its fine but if there just selling it like normal food with out warning then i think thats illegal

[Stephen]

my mum bought some veg for dinner today for 15p cos they were going out of date tomorrow.. £1.15 usually!! ******* BARGAIN

but yeah i highly doubt that's legal

[Misawa]

That's perfectly legal.

I've already explained the answer to this question.

[Catzsy]

Why are people in this thread wanting to get a business into trouble for something thats more or less harmless, if you dont like it then dont go that shop - or even better, use the pair of eyes you have and look at the dates on food whenever you buy from anywhere.

If it concerns you that much, simply read the date on the packet.

Because it's sharp practise and they are basically conning people. Not a good business strategy. Out of date food could hardly be called harmless as well.

[-:Undertaker:-]

Because it's sharp practise and they are basically conning people. Not a good business strategy. Out of date food could hardly be called harmless as well.

How are they conning people? you have a pair of eyes do you not? its rather simple and its called personal responsibility, simply look at the date and don't buy if you aren't comfortable with eating slightly out of date food then you do not have to buy it. More to the point, its probably been sitting on a warehouse shelf for months on end before it even reached the shop.

Don't be such a Randall Weems.

[StripedTiger]

Well it depends i think..... look at your cheap stores that have like cheap crap like biscuits and stuff and if you look its out of date.... i think it just depends on if the food will cause illness if its out f date such as meat and veg etc...

[benjamin]

How are they conning people? you have a pair of eyes do you not? its rather simple and its called personal responsibility, simply look at the date and don't buy if you aren't comfortable with eating slightly out of date food then you do not have to buy it. More to the point, its probably been sitting on a warehouse shelf for months on end before it even reached the shop.

Don't be such a Randall Weems.
i do see your point, but why should we have to check the date of everything we buy? when legally it is down to the shop. we shouldn't have to have that responsibility. i do agree, maybe getting them shut down is a little extreme, but why should we have to pick up their slack?

[-:Undertaker:-]

i do see your point, but why should we have to check the date of everything we buy? when legally it is down to the shop. we shouldn't have to have that responsibility. i do agree, maybe getting them shut down is a little extreme, but why should we have to pick up their slack?

Because you are the one wanting to buy from them, its as simple as that.

The idea that 'I don't have the responsiblity' when it comes down to what we eat or what we buy is ridiculous. Perhaps we don't expect it in bigger stores as much, but in smaller stores who get such a bad deal these days - give them a break. We often go on and on about waste, small stores are probably the least wasteful as they'll only order what they need/make more of an effort to sell off items that are going off/have gone off.

Compare that to ASDA and co. who will simply bin them.

[Janet Snakehole]

I know you can get in trouble but most shops normally have like a little stand where they'll sell stuff that's gone off/about to go off. Some things are alright past the sell by date! Aslong as it's not like meat/milk or anything, ew.

[GommeInc]

It's not illegal... Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and all kinds of supermarkets have these things called policies that are put upon them by Trading Standards as supermarkets are expected to sell clearly in date produce as the general premise of a supermarket is easy, fast and reliable shopping. Corner shops and the like can sell out of date produce if it is at a reduced price (usually reduced from the usual RRP). It doesn't have to be clearly marked, but it does help as some inidividuals who are money hungry or generally like being angry, tend to complain and they go by the individual than the business, even though there is no clear law about it (they just go by health and safety, trading standards etc as an excuse).

As far as I see it, the shop probably shouldn't be buying too much stock if their produce is going out of date... Dr Pepper is meant to last about 6 months, so why they are buying large amounts of the stuff is beyond me, especially when corner shops tend to get their stock from cash and carries, or direct from a supplier :P Complain if you want, the shop won't give you money and shouldn't be fined unless there are more underlying issues with their stock e.g. open packets oozing what looks like the bowels of hell.

[FreyCo]

Not sure if already posted as I haven't checked previous replies.



Foods marked with a 'use by' date must not be sold or displayed for sale after their marked dates. It is an offence to sell or offer for sale food past its use by date. For example, use by 5 March means use by midnight on 5 March. Foods marked with 'best before' or 'best before end' dates may be sold after their marked dates, provided that they remain of good quality and fit for human consumption. In these circumstances it is advisable to ensure that customers know that the date has expired before they make the decision to buy.

[AsFastAsYou]

Corner shops and small buisnesses sometimes do sell food/drinks that are out of date, but normally they'd reduce the price, ALOT. But bigger shops, (Asda, Tesco, Sainsburrys) Don't sell out of date food, as they have continuas stock coming in, and they have more sales, than corner shops too.

[tdi]

WHY does everyone nowadays just want to pin the blame on someone and get them into trouble for something which is pretty fine? The quote 'out of date food can't exactly be called harmless' is pretty false.

fair enough, dairy stuff, chilled, etc.. yes; but soft drinks, chocolate bars, frozen stuff is perfectly fine. Don't have a lot of it at home but always get loads of out of date stuff at work. I've worked there for about five years now and I haven't suffered as a result of it. Things like chocolate bars, crisps etc are all sealed air tight. Drinks are carbonated to preserve them for ages. Frozen stuff is kept at about -15 to -20, most bacteria wouldn't be able to survive; freezing things preserves them. Most of the stuff is reduced which is the reason I buy it at work, but you have to accept the odd product will slip through the net and go un-noticed. Why not just notify the guy behind the till, I'm sure he'll either give you it a bit cheaper or pass forward the message so that something could be done about it.

Small shops don't have many staff or a huge turnover unlike the supermarkets, hence why it's not as tidy. They also don't have the same policies as the supermarkets. Can't you guys just support the local businesses and stop comparing them to the larger supermarkets which are single-handedly killing the 'corner shops?' They're just trying to make a living and I'm sure a trip from Trading Standards wouldn't help them one bit. Just use your eyes or a bit of common sense.

[Samantha]

I remember this shop in Cleethorpes what are usually a little out of date.

However, this shop in Chapel St. Leonards sells stuff like those cartons of pops you get with kid meals at fish and chip shops that have an expiry date of like 2006.

I don't mind if it's a bit out of date, but if they are a well established name then I think they shouldn't.

[Jessicrawrr]

there was some bottles of drench in Cooplands today, they had a sign saying 'Bottles of drench out of date from march, 60p' Is that allowed?

[tdi]

there was some bottles of drench in Cooplands today, they had a sign saying 'Bottles of drench out of date from march, 60p' Is that allowed?
did you read any of this thread?

[tardis101]

trading standards will just close them down for a week or two until they restock everything which is silly lol and our local corner shop does this with stale food ect and nobody gives two hoots, I dont see what the big fuss is about tbh lol just live your life.....