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Likely what happened is that they were marked down as they were approaching their expiration date, and the expiration passed during the holiday when things were busy. It's impossible for employees to monitor all the expiration dates in the store, especially if it's a large store, and especially during a busy time like Christmas. That's why I check the expiration date of all perishables before dropping them in my cart.
It's not sleazy at all. It's a common way of quickly moving stock that will soon be expired.
I was shopping for groceries today and noticed that this supermarket had the expired Entenmann's plastered with big sale stickers but sold the fresh ones at full priced. That's pretty sleazy if you ask me. I approached the store about it and I guess they felt exposed. So they sold me the fresh one at a sale price. Regardless, I don't know if I want to continue shopping there.
Around here, there are bakery thrift stores that sell those same items at a discount. Wonder Bread, Arnolds, Thomas's and I believe Entenmanns may have some thrift stores also. If the manufacturers can sell them why not the grocery stores?
I wish more of the stores around me put just exp or soon to exp merchandise on discount, instead of throwing it away. Only 1 supermarket (S&S) sells bruised up producce in a designated rack but they price that junk as high as reg merchandise (99c per lbs for bruised tomatoes, etc). So they take the effort to wrap up the produce, price it so high that hardly anyone buys them, then send the unsellable produce with the extra Styrofoam trays and plastic wraps to the landfill....stupid Corporate greed.
I was shopping for groceries today and noticed that this supermarket had the expired Entenmann's plastered with big sale stickers but sold the fresh ones at full priced. That's pretty sleazy if you ask me. I approached the store about it and I guess they felt exposed. So they sold me the fresh one at a sale price. Regardless, I don't know if I want to continue shopping there.
What's sleazy about it? You had a choice offered by them. What's sleazy is your patronage at the store. I bet your one of the rare clients I get that love to renegotiate prices after the work has been done too. Don't worry though, I'm sure the retailers you frequent will be all too happy if you do not continue to shop there. Maybe find a place that has dented canned goods you can nickel and dime them to death on before you tie up the checkout line with a cents off coupon for everything in your cart.
I was shopping for groceries today and noticed that this supermarket had the expired Entenmann's plastered with big sale stickers but sold the fresh ones at full priced. That's pretty sleazy if you ask me. I approached the store about it and I guess they felt exposed. So they sold me the fresh one at a sale price. Regardless, I don't know if I want to continue shopping there.
What rock have you lived under? Selling post date / expired bakery items is NOTHING new! That's why your getting the discount. It's not dangerous to eat just not as fresh. They didn't feel exposed, I assure you because the vendors are the ones allowing them to recoup money by doing that. Everybody with a pulse knows that discounted bakery items means they not fresh anymore. You make croutons with stale bread, you make banana bread with BLACK bananas, the best French toast is made with 2-3 day old "stale" bread. Loose the conspiracy theories. If this bothers you, than you better stop shopping at EVERY supermarket on the planet!
I was shopping for groceries today and noticed that this supermarket had the expired Entenmann's plastered with big sale stickers but sold the fresh ones at full priced. That's pretty sleazy if you ask me. I approached the store about it and I guess they felt exposed. So they sold me the fresh one at a sale price. Regardless, I don't know if I want to continue shopping there.
absolutely nothing wrong with the practice. All the expired date means is, sell and use now or use asap. We buy expired items all the time. In fact my first stop at the grocery store is to the basket of expired or damaged basket. I will pick up things 25 to 50% off and use it within a few days or freeze it. You obviously don't remember the days items had no expiration dates. You also must not be aware of the small margin of profit stores make. If they tossed everything that had an expiration date the margin would shrink even more. If food banks didn't depend on donations of expired items, the people depending on them would have very little food. when you buy bakery goods, do you always use them up immediately?
I love getting products whose "use by", "sell-by", "expires" date is gone by. Discounts! And 99% of those products are good for at least another year. Toothpaste even has a date on it. Good grief, OP, it's just as good today as it was last month when that date arrived. It's people like you who make it easy for me to save money.
I routinely go to the "day old" bread store and bring it home and freeze for future use. These are the products that were fresh yesterday and today are removed from grocery shelves, brought to the discount store and I get to pay 1/2 or less what you paid. And you still have yours in your bread box or bread drawer! If I get it 2 days later, it's discounted yet another 50%. You still haven't finished that full price loaf of bread you bought.
The Entenmann's bakery store in my former city was fantastic! Imagine, donuts, cookies, cakes, all half off, 3/$5 or better!
Please, keep buying only those items in perfect date. I will continue to go to the "dented can" store or "day old bakery" for my products. BTW, I'm 66 and have been doing this for years - probably since before you were born - and no one has ever gotten sick over any product I've served.
Didja know that, if you freeze pasta for 2 hours when you first bring it home, it will keep for a full year. Freezing kills whatever might be lurking in the BOX!
I adore the 'use by'" dates. We never pay retail for anything if we can help it and those use by dates are wonderful for engendering mark down stickers. Pink and red stickers are the best way to keep food budgets low. We have a neurotic neighbor that brings over everything as soon as what he calls the 'expiration' date is up since he doesn't want to eat it anymore. He's pretty careful about what he buys but things still occasionally 'expire' on him. So, they live on our shelves for up to a couple years and then we eat them.
Basically, the use by date is supposed to be if you use the product by that date it will look and taste the way it is supposed to. After that date, it may be discolored or stale tasting, it doesn't necessarily make it unwholesome, just different.
We eat stuff with 'use by' dates that are four or five years out of date. Some things are naturally not going to go bad like vinegar and pickles and such so they're good for years. Frozen things are good for years although there's the possibility of freezer burn and flavor loss. Still not inedible, just not as tasty. Eventually acidic things will eat through the can, though, stuff like tomato sauces and such so use them within three years of the 'use by' date is my advice.
However, I'm not a professional food adviser so pay no attention to my opinion.
I've bought meat with manager special stickers on them and the sell by date is either the day I bought it or the next day. I have cooked them that day or froze them and cooked it another day. No problems, the meat smelled fine and no one got sick.
Every year, on our trip to the Midwest, we stop in one of several "salvage" or "surplus" stores. These stores are USUALLY found in areas with a Amish/Mennonite population and occasionally include a bulk foods department of some size.
What do i generally buy at a salvage store?
Salad dressing - we like the fancy vinegarettes that you pay $6 in gist stores. We buy them for $0.75 each.
Mustards - we like a wide variety of mustards that are usually $3-4 for a small jar. Our price - $0.50 each
Condiments like horseradish sauce, cocktail sauce and the like - $0.50-0.75 each.
Spaghetti Sauce - brands like Rao's and the like - $1 for a large jar.
Baking mixes - cornbread, muffin and the like - $0.25-0.50
Matzos - especially Passover -$0.25-0.50 per box.
Jellies - $0.50-0.75 each
In addition, in a lot of the markets there ARE fresh product. Periodically, stores like to change label. When the new labels come out, they need to get rid of the old labels. I bought a banana box full of Meijer's organic products with >12 month of "use by" date left.
Many of these stores sell "grey market" items. For example, say Procter and Gamble or Colgate makes a load of toothpaste for the South American market with boxes printed in Spanish and doesn't need it for the export market? They slap on a English ingredients label and sell it at these stores.
Discontinued products are similar. When they put out an Oreo cookie derivative that is a real loser, they sell it on the secondary market to get rid of it.
Are there things that I won't buy at these stores. Certainly.
Cereal - generally, I can buy fresh with coupons and promos.
Snacks - They tend to turn rancid or stale more than others.
OTC drugs
Any mangled or dented goods
Meats, especially lunch meats
I agree with Mainebrokerman. We salvage folks save a lot of money shopping at these stores and we keep a heck of a lot of food from going into landfills.
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