Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I just saw this at my supermarket today. The top brand milk, lowfat, sell-by date-stamped in two days time, clearance sale priced at 25 cents per half-gallon, and the dairy manager was standing by it explaining... "there's nothing wrong, we're just over-stocked, and it is guaranteed to be good for 9 days after the sell-by date the same as all our fresh milk," and yet he was having trouble finding takers.
People would stop, look, glance at the sell-by date, shake their head, and walk on. One young mother with two kids in the cart said "Heck yeah, they'll be gone in two days," and grabbed two.
Even with dairy manager explaining that if they were not happy with the milk 8 days AFTER the sell-by date they could brink it back for a refund, most people would look at the regular priced milk in their cart and keep walking.
It was such a fascinating display of human nature, and I think of many people's extreme caution around perishibles, that I wished I had more time to simply loiter and watch people encounter this phenomenal deal and then struggle to decide what to do.
I asked the manager what would happen on Wednesday, if he had not sold out the lot, and he said "We'll just dump it, even though it has a guaranteed 9 more days of freshness. I'd rather give people a little break on it now."
But most people seemed suspicious, and he didn't have a lot of takers.
I frequently have open milk a week or more past the expiration date and it's fine.
But are you (the journalistic "you," not the personal "you") clear that there is no expiration date on the package? Many people seem confused on this point.
The date on the package is NOT an expiration date, all though people use that term all the time. It's a self imposed early deadline date for the market to sell by and still leave a reasonable margin of use by the consumer. And this case the actual expiry, if were to be printed on the label, would be 9 days AFTER the sell-by date.
So far the commenters on this thread seem to have their heads on straight, but I assure you that the customers in the supermarket today were having trouble wrapping their heads around the offer that was being presented to them.
I said, "yes," I would buy it. No problems. If I had room in my freezer, and I could buy more than one, I would and freeze it - it would be fine thawed for cooking.
That said, I don't buy milk. I get fresh - really fresh! - milk twice a day from "Zilli" - my milk goat.
I buy "reduced for quick sale" meat - all the time. I either use it right away or freeze it.
I said, "yes," I would buy it. No problems. If I had room in my freezer, and I could buy more than one, I would and freeze it - it would be fine thawed for cooking.
That said, I don't buy milk. I get fresh - really fresh! - milk twice a day from "Zilli" - my milk goat.
I buy "reduced for quick sale" meat - all the time. I either use it right away or freeze it.
I'd buy cheap milk in a heartbeat. We often get free milk that is past shelf life, but keeps well and we drink it fast around here anyway.
I've seen people refuse to take free milk because of the date of the container. Their loss, my gain.
I also buy the reduced meat; scored with sausage for $.99 a 1 lb chub, bought all six that were there.
In the same section of the store they put other reduced items; one time I bought 10 packages of cream cheese for fifty cents each... froze these and we had cheesecake for months (with fruit I got free!).
Finding bargains is a game, and sometimes I come out the winner.
I'd buy it in a heartbeat and rearrange my entire menu for the week based upon this find.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
