What do grocery stores do with expired/expiring meats? (sell, items, best)

[mmyk72]

I used to see a lot of last minute markdowns on meat packages when they have 1 day or so left before the exp date. But that was yrs ago and most stores around me don't do these markdowns anymore.

Also, at a new grocery store that opened recently in my area, they sell high end meats.... I'm talking about $20 to 30 per lb. and I'm sure these don't get sold before expiring. I'd guess that some places with prepared food depts can cook some of them and sell as prepared entrees.

Does anyone work in the food retail business that can give us the scoop?

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by mmyk72

I used to see a lot of last minute markdowns on meat packages when they have 1 day or so left before the exp date. But that was yrs ago and most stores around me don't do these markdowns anymore.

Also, at a new grocery store that opened recently in my area, they sell high end meats.... I'm talking about $20 to 30 per lb. and I'm sure these don't get sold before expiring. I'd guess that some places with prepared food depts can cook some of them and sell as prepared entrees.

Does anyone work in the food retail business that can give us the scoop?

There are two questions there. Let me separate them.

MOST grocery stores put "SPECIAL" stickers on meat that is 1-2 days away from the "sell by" date to get rid of the product. Yes, they still do that as I buy a lot of that product. In Chicagoland, Safeway's Dominicks division was marking down as much as 40% of their meat to get rid of it. Since they had been in financial difficulties, you could get there in the AM and get as much as 40% off on most meats.

Grocery stores also use expiring meats to prepare the prepared foods. That happens all the time.

However, there is a LOT LESS waste these days in the meat department for several reasons.

1) Computerized checkouts let a retailer know exactly what they are selling and make better ordering decisions.

2) Most stores are open 7 days a week, eliminating a lot of the "I need to get rid of this stuff by Saturday.

3) Twenty years ago, the stores would bring in carcass beef and pork. That means that the final meat products would be produced in store. That would be great EXCEPT that we all know that certain parts are more popular than others.

What they do now is to buy primal cuts - Strips, chucks, etc. and cut that. That is why you rarely see offal (livers, hearts, etc.) in the major supermarkets. They take the primal cuts and cut it into the retail cuts you see. There is a lot less waste ... and variety these days.


The BEST way to get markdowns is to stop in the market DURING THE DAY and engage with the meat manager in the store and ask him when they put out the markdowns. Most of those guys will tell you the time of day. Remember, you WILL BE competing with others for that material.

I hope that helps.

[kygman]

I would expect it would all be trashed. I've learned something about that recently. Around here, once the weather man says the word "snow", people panic and start buying groceries like they won't be able to get out the front door for a month. But, after that 2 inch snow that was supposed to be 6-8" melts, people take the extra groceries back to the store to get their money back. What happens to these canned goods and other groceries? The stores have to put them all in the trash! Can't reduce the price and put them back on the shelf or take it all to a food pantry. They are required to throw it all away!

[OwlKaMyst]

Originally Posted by kygman

What happens to these canned goods and other groceries? The stores have to put them all in the trash! Can't reduce the price and put them back on the shelf or take it all to a food pantry. They are required to throw it all away!

I'm pretty sure that they throw away anything that requires refrigeration, and 'exposed' items such as fruits, veggies, and baked goods. But anything sealed tight. Like canned or bottled items go back on the shelf as long as the seals are not tampered with and the sell by date is within it's margin.

[beatkay]

For some stores in areas with big cat refuges, the unsold meat gets marked with a blue dye and "unfit for human consumption", and then is picked up for folks who are feeding tigers, lions, leopards, etc. A refuge I knew of in Tampa went through 8,000 pounds of meat per week!

Fresh meat is hard to come by, and most reputable refuges are very careful about taking donated deer, horse, cattle. So, the frozen and expired meat is what feeds the animals.

The USDA estimates that there are over 5,000 tigers in captivity in the U.S. That's a lot of meat!

[tickyul]

Well, from what I am seeing......a LOT more of that marked-down meat is NOT hitting the garbage. It is actually competitive.....you get there too late, no MDM is left. The exception being stores that very-much overprice their fru-fru cuts of meat.....that stuff will fill the marked-down bin....and still, no one buys it.

As for meat that is at or past the pull-date.....I assume MOST large stores toss it.

I know smaller stores, that have delis, will make "specials" out of the meat getting near its pull date.

[woxyroxme]

Some stores re sticker the meat with a new sell by date, look very carefully at the package to see if there are more than one sticker, they usually put a new one on over the old one without even removing the old one first.

[RogueMom]

They sell a lot of it at auction to salvage grocers who then sell it to poor, struggling people like me!

[Rubi3]

People take purchases back to the store to be reimbursed? Canned goods? I've taken an item back which was faulty, but that's all. Can't imagine returning whatever I bought from the grocery store because I may no longer need it.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Locally, it gets marked down and then if it doesn't sell, just before the date expires, it is frozen and donated to the food bank.

The stores seem to be pretty efficient at just ordering what they can sell, so there isn't a lot of excess to be marked down.