One of the cardinal rules of Couponing is to never buy / stockpile more than you and your family can use.
It only makes sense right – even if you are getting the item at a great deal, if you don’t use it before it expires then it is STILL wasted money.
We live by FIFO – first in, first out. We are always sure to use up the items in our stockpile before they expire. We also know that “Best Before” and “Expired” don’t always mean the same thing. An unopened box of cereal may still be tasty weeks past it’s best before date, but dairy products will expire if left unconsumed.
What happens though when the goods are gone bad long before they get to you?
I’m pretty good about watching dates for products I plan to stock up on but foods I plan to use up right away, not so much. You know what I mean. I check the BB date on all of my cereal boxes but that jug of OJ I grab from the fridge, I expect that to be good.
Well, I think I may just have to change my ways now. I’ve noticed a DISTURBING trend of expired foods coming INTO my home! I can immediately recall at least 3 in the last few weeks alone. And no, they aren’t all from the same store because that would be an easy fix. I would just stop shopping there. But the problem appears to be running rampant throughout Peterborough.
Here are my 3 examples.
#1. I bought a bottle of flavoured syrup for our SodaStream from Home Outfitters. It had expired in May. Unfortunately, we didn’t notice until AFTER we made our first bottle and it wasn’t good – at all. I had planned to return it to Home Outfitters but eventually just threw it out. I don’t go there often and would have had to make a trip out of my way to return it. $5.99 wasted.
#2. I had planned to make a dessert recipe I found on Pinterest. It called for Marshmallow Fluff and since we don’t ever have it in the house, I planned to pick it up (at full price – eep!) on my next shopping trip. So sure enough, the next time I was in FreshCo I purchased a jar of Kraft Marshmallow Creme. A few days later as I was getting my ingredients ready to bake said recipe, I thankfully noticed that it expired in MARCH!!! I haven’t been back to FreshCo since so I’m still holding onto the jar hoping to exchange it. Needless to say my recipe has yet to be made. Another $4.99 in limbo.
#3. Ryan and I went to Real Canadian Superstore on Saturday to pick up some produce and other groceries on Tax Free Day. We normally don’t shop at RCSS because I find I have issues Price Matching & using coupons plus its located in a really inconvenient & busy spot but I wanted to go there specifically to look for some coupons and get in some of the great deals, tax free. It wasn’t on the list, but Ryan spotted a jug of Tropicana Orange Juice and just had to have it. Way over priced but hey, who am I to say no to the man! So the jug of juice went into the cart, through the till and into our fridge. This morning, I opened up the jug and gave it a shake before pouring a glass of juice. I got about a cm of juice out before I knew something was off. Sure enough, I turn the jug around, expired August 5, 2013. YUCK!
Now I’m faced with yet another return to a store I don’t generally go to. The sour juice is still in our fridge but I won’t be going to return it today and probably not tomorrow either. By the time I drive all the way to RCSS and back, it will probably eat up the half of the $6.47 cost of the juice.
So there you have it, 3 stores, 3 expired products and all in less than 2 months. That’s over $17 spent on product that is no good. It may not seem like THAT much money, but I could do a lot with that $17! I know as a consumer, it is partially my responsibility to check the dates BEFORE they go into the cart. However, I don’t believe the entire responsibility should fall on me. As I said before, if I’m stocking up on a product, I always check dates but should we really have to mindful of the dates on perishable goods too?
I guess I’m going to start making a habit of checking dates on everything I purchase now. I’m not even sure who else to hold accountable!?! The store manager? The associate who stocked the shelf? The product supplier or manufacturer? The brand?
I suppose in the meantime, I’ll have to make a trip out to do some grocery returns and next time remind myself to save my time and money by checking dates BEFORE I buy.
Have you ever purchased expired food and not realized until it was too late? What did you do about it? Share with us, we’d love to hear about it.
