Is it bad manners to pick up longer expiry date product from the shelf?

mashedpotato on 11/06/2015 - 12:16

Come on, I know some of you have done it!
Personally I have, and seen a lot of people doing it as well.
I was buying a milk from Woolies and witnessed that one of the person was reaching her hand
to pick up the one that had longer expiry date that was behind the "shorter" expiry date ones.
Although I don't think it's illegal or anything,
I just want to know what do you guys think about it.

Do you think it's bad manners to pick up the items that are behind the shelf, which has a longer expiry date?

Poll Options

  • 8
    Yes, it is bad manners. You should not do that!
  • 839
    No, it is not bad manners. I do that all the time!
  • 9
    It depends on your consciousness. If you feel bad about it, then don't do it!
Food & Grocery

Comments

  • hashtagbargain on 12/06/2015 - 16:55

    Absolutely not. We dont go to the super market just to buy whats available in the front of the shelf!!

    On second though, what a silly question this is to even be asking and thinking about :/

  • SpaceNinja on 12/06/2015 - 17:08
    +3

    Going by that logic, its probably great manners to pick up the expired stuff.

  • cloudy on 12/06/2015 - 17:09
    +1

    I think if u know u will finish the product before the expiry date, for certain, there's no need to reach for the longer dated item. The last thing I like is food chucked out coz it couldn't sell before the date.

    It's true there will be a discounting period by the supermarkets to try to clean out older stock, but if it still doesn't sell, I know for a fact some supermarkets throw them, and it's such a waste of resources in this world.

  • TRENT86 on 12/06/2015 - 18:05
    +1

    When I worked at a supermarket like 13 years ago we had customers do it all the time but we learnt and started putting some of the old ones at the back deliberately knowing they would be taken, then we would sit back and laugh at them lol, funniest part of all was watching someone stretch and stretch to get the back one but we knew they were all the same date lol

  • Qroozn on 12/06/2015 - 18:48

    Is it bad manners to take the chook that was cooked most recently?
    Is it bad manners to take the box that isn't crushed?
    Is it bad manners to take the nicest looking mangoes?

    This is not the beginning of a toast masters speech, but rheoretical questions to help assure you that you're right.

    I worked in the chiller section of a supermarket. I didn't care if anyone took the fresher milk. But when they moved all the full crates and put them on the floor so they can get the fresher milk only to leave the full crates in the aisle…. Now that was scummy.

  • imcold on 12/06/2015 - 19:46

    I do this with products that tend to go off fast, or deteriorate more with age, or a more pricy. Juice, milk, chips, vitamins, vegetables and fruit, meat. Otherwise i dont care about the which has the more favorable use by date

  • jlogic on 12/06/2015 - 23:11
    +1

    Be brave… I just consumed a few products that ranged from 5 days to 2 weeks past due. These were use by dates and not best before. No issues with my stomach or any smell.

    Only thing that I wouldn't trust is dairy. I had things within the use by dates that had gone off already. Serms you are at the mercy of the supermarket there to make sure they put the goods away quickly.

    My local Coles discounts up 90% off for food items at or a day passed. Caveat Emptor :) picked up some good tasty meals that way for around $1 to $4. Cheap meal without resorting to Dominoes vouchers.

    • diddy50 on 13/06/2015 - 08:38
      +1

      There is anyways a tolerance built into dates by manufactures. So yeah probably fine.

      But remember you can't taste, see or smell ecoli and salmonella…

      Edit :
      Dairy is one i trust the most, yoghurt a month past is expiry, eat it.
      Philly cheese use by 2 months ago, not even opened yet, eat it.
      Sour cream not mouldy, it's already sour so eat it!

      Milk……. Hmmm…. Lumpy… Down the sink

      • Sage on 13/06/2015 - 18:52

        I wouldn't risk it. I had old cream once and felt like I was going to die. Couldn't tell it was old from the way it looked or tasted.
        But hey, if it works for you then that's great.

      • dd721411 on 13/06/2015 - 19:11

        Even when you can't see mold or any color difference from the outside, they can exist inside the product. For products made from milk, eggs, meat that are meant to be eaten fresh, I don't wanna take the risk. My life is worth more than a $2 milk bottle.

        I'm OK with fruits and veggies. Some fruits are best to eat when they're about to expire.

  • Marcsie on 13/06/2015 - 00:08
    +1

    Silly question :)

  • kelea on 13/06/2015 - 00:19

    Nothing wrong with taking fresher stock. Just leave shelves as you found it.

  • rotoclock on 13/06/2015 - 02:06

    I do this with milk because I don't use very much (just in tea/coffee) and otherwise it'll go off before I can use it all.

    Otherwise, no. I don't think it's rude but I prefer not to contribute to food wastage (although IMO poor rotation practices account for many more OODs than customers taking from the back, which is another thing - taking it from the back by no means guarantees a more recent date, so make sure you check), so if I'm sure I'll use things before they go bad then I will buy whatever's at the front.

    Just try not to mess up a perfectly faced display when you're reaching to the back because that is the actual worst.

    PS I have worked at several supermarkets and a lot of the time when staff are putting back cold items that customers have changed their minds about, those go to the back. So you might actually be getting the one that just spent god knows how long in someone's trolley, by doing this. FWIW.

  • Donaldhump on 13/06/2015 - 07:51

    i snap the bottom of brocoli off:)

    • diddy50 on 13/06/2015 - 08:36
      -4

      Me too, why should you pay for it as you don't use it, and it is half the weight!

      • dd721411 on 13/06/2015 - 19:29
        +2

        Maybe because you don't know that part is edible and even tastes better than the florets. As a VNese (not trying to be racist here), we are taught to pay respect mother nature, farmers and their produce by eating every single edible part of everything. A single grain of rice on the floor, a single drop of soup on the table and my head would be knocked by chopsticks. Ha ha! Though not anymore because I've grown up and be responsible for my own life.

        You guys should try these or you'll miss the best things in life:

        • Fruit & veggie skin (potatoes, carrots, apples, pears, grapes and, of course, NOT durian)
        • Cartilage, tendon, marrow, blood, brain and internal organs, head and feet of animals (COOKED please)

        Can't remember other things.

        • Donaldhump on 16/06/2015 - 01:37

          sweet whats ur adress ill drop my banana skins over

        • dd721411 on 16/06/2015 - 12:04

          @unclesnake: Aww, how sweet you are to offer me such a precious gift! However, you don't need to bring banana skins to NT because we have no use of them rather than composting or dumping them in trash bins. You can keep those banana skins for yourself for later use. I bet you need them more than I do.

          BTW, I understand that you don't like broccoli but, for a snake, you eat bananas? A vegan snake, that sounds strange to me! But don't worry, if you really like bananas, just cum to NT. We have a wide range of huge, unpeeled, juicy, tasty bananas waiting for you. Just a friendly reminder: don't get too excited and try to eat many at the same time as you may choke yourself. Take one after another is a better method.

          Welcum to NT, the Natural Territory.

    • jlogic on 13/06/2015 - 09:28
      +2

      You don't use the stalk? I slice mine into circles and fry,steam or roast them. No wastage here.

    • cloudy on 13/06/2015 - 10:17
      +1

      Haha, I was out with friends last night and talking about how people are so different.
      Some people eat kiwis skin on, or use their teeth to bite into a orange. One of them was people who don't eat the stalk. The stalk of a broccoli is exactly the same as the rest of the broccoli until the tips of the head. And surely u don't just eat the very tip. U would be eat some stalk anyway, ur just eating less, why? It makes no sense, unnecessary food wastage imho.

      Also, the stalk happens to be my favourite part, although I love all of the broccoli.

      • Donaldhump on 16/06/2015 - 01:37

        didnt think u could eat it, but seriously i buy brocoli once a decade.

  • diddy50 on 13/06/2015 - 08:36
    +1

    No one ever takes the top newspaper.

    • paloverde88 on 13/06/2015 - 11:20
      +1

      No one takes the first magazine either they always pick the ones at the back fresh and glossy no one has flick through the pages with their dirty mitts.

      No one takes the mobile phone where the box is dented or not flashy new, and that's just the box.

    • bonezAU on 13/06/2015 - 19:12

      People still buy newspapers? wow.

  • Jabba the Hutt on 13/06/2015 - 10:45

    I do it where I feel it matters, but am left wondering whether that kind of behaviour indirectly leads to increased use of preservatives, e.g. do English muffins have so much added sodium because consumers expect packs with a 6-7 day expiry.

    Tying into that is the problem of smaller quantities being unavailable or much poorer value, e.g. can't get muffins in say a 4-pack, while a small tub of yoghurt might cost 50% more per gram than a large one. So there's a need/incentive to buy larger quantities, and with that can come the need to pick expiry dates that are further away.

  • ozzybee on 13/06/2015 - 10:51
    +1

    "Although I don't think it's illegal or anything" hahahaha omg. wow

    Can you imagine the judge in sentencing?

    "And for the crime of picking up the milk that was slightly behind the other bottles of milk, you shall receive a sentence of 6.5 years imprisonment without the possibility of parole, and 10 years community service applying the expiry date stickers to milk bottles"

    All this laughing has made me thirsty, lucky the milk's still in date..

  • saddybedangdang on 13/06/2015 - 10:53
    +1

    Definitely thought about this before. I think most people choose any bottle of milk so being that one customer to pick up the longer expiry date really doesn't impact much. That said, my family doesn't drink milk fast enough so we usually get from the back. If I know I will finish the product quickly, I go for the front stuff as it feels considerate

  • paloverde88 on 13/06/2015 - 11:16
    +1

    It's not free I am paying for it so I want the freshest and best and I paid for it. Throwing food that has expired that I could not consume before expiry is wastage obscene and considering how many in the world are starving, is worse than say having a long expiry date so none of my food is wasted and thrown away. Especially bread, they really turn bad after expiry.

    Haven't we seen people opening stuff at supermarket to smell like shampoo and bath gel. Would you buy it knowing people have opened it or would you reach for the shampoo right at the back where it was unlikely to have been opened and smelled.

    • dd721411 on 13/06/2015 - 19:45
      +1

      If everyone tries to get products with the longest expiry date, who will get the shorter date ones. And if the products are expired and dumped to the bins then is it any difference between you, other customers or the supermarkets themselves who do that?

      You have the right to choose the best products that suit your need. No one can deny that. But for me, if I know that I will finish a product today or before expiry date, I'll choose the SHORTER expiry date one. But if I want to keep something longer than usual then I go with the LONGER expiry date not the LONGEST expiry date ones. And if you can, go for the REDUCED TO CLEAR or FLASH SALE as long as you think they're safe to consume.

      It's good to think for yourself but it's better to think for everyone. "No man is an island" ;)

      Happy weekend, everyone!

      • tdw on 13/06/2015 - 20:25
        +1

        nearly all perishable food i buy is 'reduced to clear', if not on special. couldn't afford it otherwise

        • paloverde88 on 13/06/2015 - 22:50

          At Coles Sylvania this arvo and none of the Danish that expires today is reduced nor on special. Makes you wonder how wonderful! All normal price.

        • dd721411 on 13/06/2015 - 22:52

          +1! But make sure that they are safe to consume. If you can detect any sign of contamination, discolor, leakage or the like, you shouldn't buy them. Tell the staff to safely dispose the food.

        • dd721411 on 13/06/2015 - 22:56

          @paloverde88: You can ask the staff for a discount and they may talk to the manager. Try all your negotiation skills and good luck with that.

        • tdw on 14/06/2015 - 00:07

          @721411: once i thought i scored a latina pasta meal for cheap but when i scanned it, an error came up. the self-serve checkout supervisor seemed to know straight away what the problem was: it had expired the day before and they would not be able to sell it to me.

          i was annoyed for 2 reasons — it would've been a damn good, cheap lunch for work the next day and it was a waste of food. i've eaten those pre-made meals at least a week out of date and it tasted fine.

        • dd721411 on 14/06/2015 - 00:45

          @tdw: Lol. What they did was right because if you ate the food and something bad happened to you, they held the total responsibility for that (and it was also their mistake not to clear the old stock properly).

          I sometimes eat foods that are long after "Best before" date because I bought them in bulk to save money but I couldn't finish them on time. However, those are dried foods so I think it's kinda "safe" to eat them after the "Best before" date, though not recommended. On the other hand, wet and oily foods where they contain eggs, milk, meat, etc. are a different story. These foods are heaven for fungi and bacteria. You may have an "iron stomach" but when it comes to fungal or bacterial contamination, you're lucky to escape Death.

          As I wrote in my previous comment. Your life is worth more than a $2 milk bottle (in your case, a $2 pasta meal).

        • tdw on 14/06/2015 - 00:52

          @721411: it was $1.40! yeah, i'm still peeved about it lol.

          the only time i've been ill from food in recent years was from a takeaway vegie dish. i was sitting on the porcelain thrown for a few hours. even slightly off milk hasn't given me the runs, and i'm normally quite lactose intolerant :D

        • dd721411 on 14/06/2015 - 00:56
          +1

          @tdw: Ha ha, if it was $1.4, I would take the risk too. (Cheaper than $2)

      • cloudy on 15/06/2015 - 21:25
        +1

        721411, tough name to remember, but if society was more like ur set of numbers we'd all be better for it. And maybe it's is racist, coz I was thought in a similar fashion ;)

        • dd721411 on 15/06/2015 - 22:43

          Thanks for your words though I'm not that good, I have to admit! I'm just a weirdo who tries to be a good person.

          Next time you see someone licking a bowl/dish after finishing his meal, you'll know it's me.

          Hints: If you know my first language, you can easily decode my username. Good luck!

        • cloudy on 16/06/2015 - 20:57

          @721411:

          Haha, I think i fit into the same weirdness.

          I'm the type of guy who sees a red light 500m ahead and start coasting my car for the reason to save petrol, but also to use less brakes, and get a better chance of a rolling start in hope it turns green before I reach the light.

          It pisses a lot of people off thou, especially people following behind, who would race to the lights only to brake, I laugh in my own little world.

  • Brucet on 13/06/2015 - 17:09

    no, I always pick up the longest expiry date

  • Sage on 13/06/2015 - 18:11

    I think it's wrong not to.
    I'll leave the older products for people who don't care about freshness, and if they don't get sold and the shop has to throw them out or reduce the price then that's their problem.
    I have no shame whatsoever in this practice.

  • Diji1 on 13/06/2015 - 18:31

    Is it bad manners to pick up longer expiry date product from the shelf?

    Seriously what the … that's bizarre … how do you even get to the point of having that discussion internally LOL. It would just never occur to me that taking any particular item from a shelf in a supermarket had anything to do with manners.

    Do you find yourself watching people and thinking they have bad manners when they do it? o.0

  • knackers on 13/06/2015 - 23:37

    is it bad manners to pick your nose in the privacy of your own home?

  • Unorthodox on 14/06/2015 - 01:20
    +1

    666th vote for second option :)

    • DarkOz on 14/06/2015 - 17:34

      Too much unorthodox 6 is not good for you…

  • Sinful on 14/06/2015 - 10:19
    +1

    I am a single male living by myself. When I buy milk, I want it to last as long as possible, because it's usually more than a week by the time I finish it (or chuck it, if it's expired.), so I always go for the longer expiry milk, so it doesn't go bad.

    Let the family of 4 have the 2 litre milk that will expire in 4 days.

  • [Deactivated] on 14/06/2015 - 12:17
    +1

    I forgot to mention if you take everything out of shelves or fridge and just leave them everywhere and make a big mess, not only bad manner but should be fined and banned!
    Otherwise it's all good.

  • ofey on 14/06/2015 - 21:41
    +1

    If it's something I'll be consuming in the next few days, I just take whatever expiry suits.
    If it's something I'm stocking piling, I usually take the longest expiry then.

  • wolvesaussie on 15/06/2015 - 09:59
    +1

    Hey guys talking of mark downs… do any of you find the supermarkets doing good deals? I have found them stingy in the extreme. When we lived in the UK, we had a supermarket under our apartment building. I used to go down every night just before closing and get loads of stuff for next to nothing, like steaks for $1, fish for 50c etc… these are like 80, 90% mark downs… its either sell it or bin it…

    but the Aussie supermarkets I have been to, only seem to mark something down by 10 - 20%, I have worked out Woolworths seems to make the bread down 50% late in the evening, but coles doesnt seem to, and I have never seen a better than 50% deal on ready meals/fresh fish/chicken etc..

    I went down to my local Coles last night, 10 to midnight (closing), 5 hot chickens left, still wanted $12 for them.. anyone know the system here? can you get good deals?

    • dd721411 on 15/06/2015 - 10:32

      The roast chicken if not sold by 10 pm will be made into shredded meat (bones removed) for the next day. I tried to get one for discount for years but no luck.

      Roast chicken at Woolies, on the other hand, are on sale for 40-60% at around 8.30 pm. However, I prefer Coles chook than Woolies ones because they taste better, less watery and less salty, in my opinion.

      For fresh produce, yeah it's rare when the supermarkets reduce price above 20% of the total price. If you're lucky then sometimes you can get 40-60% off meat. But these are very limited in quantity. You need to be there the exact time, not too late not too early.

      • wolvesaussie on 15/06/2015 - 13:55

        Do you think they are getting there stock to sales basics better than the UK supermarkets so they don't need to heavily discount or are they chucking out loads of stuff rather than sell it cheap.

        • dd721411 on 15/06/2015 - 14:11

          Sorry but I've no idea about that. I'm an international student and haven't lived in AUS long enough to know how the system works. May someone who works for these stores shed some light?

        • wolvesaussie on 16/06/2015 - 14:35

          @721411: I went to Woolworths at 8pm last night but they had already sold out of chickens, not sure if they discounted early or just sold out naturally

        • dd721411 on 16/06/2015 - 19:18

          @wolvesaussie: Depends on sales that day. If they have plenty of chickens left at around 6-7ish pm, they will definitely discount those chickens at $4-5. However, if there are only a few chickens at that time, they'll wait till 8-9ish pm then discount the chickens at $4-5.

          As you couldn't find any chicken at your local Woolies around 8pm, that means the chickens were sold out long before that time or they were discounted but some lucky customers got them before you. Just try another day then!

          Hints: Grab a roast chicken at Woolies for $8 every TUESDAY! Yes, TODAY!

  • wolvesaussie on 15/06/2015 - 10:02

    used to pay 20cents for 2 liters of milk a few times a week

  • tonyjzx on 15/06/2015 - 16:13
    +1

    he who has the money, makes the rules

    pick the latest

  • dsl870 on 15/06/2015 - 20:19
    +1

    No problems picking out later dates. It's more of the case how people leave a big mess just to get to them. Yeah fine, customers are gods or kings But don't be a twat. People in retail are human beings too.

  • [Deactivated] on 23/02/2016 - 10:41

    F no, I buy the longest expiry and I still cant finish it in time. Drank milk one day after expiry and trust me, it's not worth it

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