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If you are ok with second rate or second best for hard earned dollars that is your perogative but don't pass it off as acceptable as that is in large part the problem with this country.
A product sitting on the shelf with a December 15 sell-by date is still fresh on December 15, let alone two or three days earlier. How is that second rate or not acceptable?
As for this being a large problem ... whatever.
Quote:
You simply do not understand the point here in this topic and obviously don't comprehend how consumers are getting the short end of the stick here.
You don't understand food manufacturing and storage, and because I do, I'm not getting the short end of any stick, unless it's a cinnamon stick that broke in the package at the grocery store.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sirron
What? We can't even produce our own garlic?
The U.S. produces plenty of garlic. Don't buy the stuff in the sleeves. Shop at produce or farm markets. Garlic should be fresh this time of year.
A product sitting on the shelf with a December 15 sell-by date is still fresh on December 15, let alone two or three days earlier. How is that second rate or not acceptable?
As for this being a large problem ... whatever.
You don't understand food manufacturing and storage, and because I do, I'm not getting the short end of any stick, unless it's a cinnamon stick that broke in the package at the grocery store.
The U.S. produces plenty of garlic. Don't buy the stuff in the sleeves. Shop at produce or farm markets. Garlic should be fresh this time of year.
In a rush I bought the Walmart "Made in China" garlic. It didn't taste much like garlic.
My personal opinion is how can you tell if anchovies are bad? They stink and look gross, even when they are not "bad".
I read the post about feeding a cat 100 year old canned food, Jasper says he will take a pass on that. He is not my food tester.
Having worked in a grocery store, where everything is about the, "Code Date", I will admit to being over the top. If the date is passed, toss. And I have a friend who is opposite that, he has food in his house older than me...and he eats it. Shudder....
Just opened a can of anchovies for a pizza and they stunk worse than usual. Had hubby come and give it the sniff test and he said they were spoiled. The tin was marked as good until October of 2013.
Has anyone else noticed a barrage of spoiled food that's supposed to be good? Come on, stuff is expensive enough without having to throw it out or drive thirty miles back to the store with a stinking can of anchovies to get my couple of bucks back.
Stop it.
No I have not. But if you're concerned, put it in the freezer in a plastic bag and take it back the next time you go into town.
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Originally Posted by Chromekitty
Agreed!
We are constantly running into these types of issues. Sell-by dates are consistently close to current date, I am also noticing dates on items such as cheese both block and sliced are running close. Another problem is veggies from the frozen section that are freezer burnt.
We have reached out to the grocer (as have many others, based on comments on their social media pages) and have gotten no where. It is as though the grocer could careless.
You want the grocer to care? Return spoiled items for exchange or refund. Make it the grocer's problem. That will eliminate any issues.
No I have not. But if you're concerned, put it in the freezer in a plastic bag and take it back the next time you go into town. Is there a plastic bag than can fully retain the stench of anchovies?
You want the grocer to care? Return spoiled items for exchange or refund. Make it the grocer's problem. That will eliminate any issues. Great point. I return items at least a couple times a month for various reasons. I decided a couple years ago that I'm done with paying for things that aren't right. I also do not hesitate to contact corporate if I've had a less than great restaurant experience. In all of this I'm reasonable, and I dont' abuse the system though I know I could. But I'm done not getting my money's worth
2 years ago I bouht fresh shrimp from Whole foods. 3 lbs of colassal shrimp that I was going to skewer and Grill for a 4th of July party. The day after I bought them I unwrapped it so I could prepare it for our BBQ later that day and the smell was so bad It premiated the entire house! I double zip loc bagged them and threw them in the freezer. I returned them the next day with my receipt. The girl at the courtesy desk did not even have to open the bag to know that they smelled. She was like EEEWWW! I was refunded my money. Never went back there.
I do not think I have ever gotten a canned item that was spoiled when I opened it. I also suspect the risk of getting one in this country is pretty small. There were reported cases of botulism from a canned product in 2007, with the most recent previous cases being in the 1970s:
Sometimes we all get complacent about the number of recalls because they don't happen to have caused us a problem, but that doesn't mean much to those affected by spoiled or tainted products, produce or meat. To get a better picture of what has been recalled, go the fda recall website or to your state's department of health rather than rely on wikipedia.
There have was an FDA recall for botulism in 2008, which was kept expanding (New Era Canning, but involved dozens of veggies and bean product under many labels):
Then we had the giant scandal in the not so distant past, with the tomato vendor, who by way of bribery sold moldy tomatoes to giant processors, such as Kraft:
This is just a scratch at the surface - the FDA recall website is a real eye opener. You can drill down in Google as well to get recent recalls for botulism and many many more things. I've been watching for the last 5 years, since a couple of these recalls caused me problems. There is so much out there I can't begin to list it even more than just this brief overview (I'm on dialup!)
So these problems do exist and are numerous; however, it doesn't bother some people, nor does it harm everyone. If it is of no concern, pay no attention. But if the risk of harm alarms you, you can somewhat mitigate that risk by finding ways to stay informed. You can't eliminate all food risks, but you can reduce them a bit to better manage the amount of risk if it is important to you and your family.
I've also noticed the same spoilage issues as mentioned in this thread. One of the worst offenders around here is Costco, which I still enjoy shopping at, but I am very particular in checking out produce there. And I've noticed I am not alone in doing so, in fact, we shoppers often mention it to each other in passing while in the produce section. That is just one example, but I've found it isn't limited to small grocery chains by any means.
I am also getting militant about it, and take back spoiled items. I call the store and let them know that the next time I'm in town, I'll need a credit for X. If it were just an occasional item or two, that would be different. But instances of this are on the increase. I've never had a problem getting a refund from any store yet, and given that, I do keep shopping even if I've had an issue at XYZ store and try to be as aware/careful as I can in what I buy. But still, you never know what you are getting for sure in that can of XXXX.
Last edited by sugarsugar; 12-11-2012 at 04:54 PM..
Reason: mistakes, spelling, tired today!
Sometimes we all get complacent about the number of recalls because they don't happen to have caused us a problem, but that doesn't mean much to those affected by spoiled or tainted products, produce or meat. To get a better picture of what has been recalled, go the fda recall website or to your state's department of health rather than rely on wikipedia.
There have was an FDA recall for botulism in 2008, which was kept expanding (New Era Canning, but involved dozens of veggies and bean product under many labels):
Then we had the giant scandal in the not so distant past, with the tomato vendor, who by way of bribery sold moldy tomatoes to giant processors, such as Kraft:
This is just a scratch at the surface - the FDA recall website is a real eye opener. You can drill down in Google as well to get recent recalls for botulism and many many more things. I've been watching for the last 5 years, since a couple of these recalls caused me problems. There is so much out there I can't begin to list it even more than just this brief overview (I'm on dialup!)
So these problems do exist and are numerous; however, it doesn't bother some people, nor does it harm everyone. If it is of no concern, pay no attention. But if the risk of harm alarms you, you can somewhat mitigate that risk by finding ways to stay informed. You can't eliminate all food risks, but you can reduce them a bit to better manage the amount of risk if it is important to you and your family.
I've also noticed the same spoilage issues as mentioned in this thread. One of the worst offenders around here is Costco, which I still enjoy shopping at, but I am very particular in checking out produce there. And I've noticed I am not alone in doing so, in fact, we shoppers often mention it to each other in passing while in the produce section. That is just one example, but I've found it isn't limited to small grocery chains by any means.
I am also getting militant about it, and take back spoiled items. I call the store and let them know that the next time I'm in town, I'll need a credit for X. If it were just an occasional item or two, that would be different. But instances of this are on the increase. I've never had a problem getting a refund from any store yet, and given that, I do keep shopping even if I've had an issue at XYZ store and try to be as aware/careful as I can in what I buy. But still, you never know what you are getting for sure in that can of XXXX.
Thanks for the info.
The link I gave was to reports of illness, not recalls. The links you gave all specify that the issues leading to the recalls did not include reports of illness. Apparently even the moldy tomatoes did not cause illness. It would be interesting to know whether any of the products affected were returned because of consumers unhappy with the quality, though.
Most of the botulism cases in this country are due to home canned foods.
By their very nature, dairy products and fresh fruits, vegetables and meats are subject to spoilage. That can depend as much on how they are handled after purchase as before.
All I can say is that I have not had a problem with canned or frozen products.
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I don't eat a whole loaf before it goes icky and it kills me to pitch it.
