to take food from the back of the supermarket shelves so it's fresher?

[Dolcelatte]

I may be eating it that day, but i still want to know it's the freshest available, rather than the stuff at the front which is more likely to be near its eat by date.

its not at all ur if you are doing it in a reasonablesized supermarket with lots of turn over.

if you are doing it in a tiny village shop with something like milk and you know they cant order much in then you are bu and contributing towards wastege.

i do it. some supermarkets are wise to it and mix the dates up.
similarly, i don't take the top pack of spring greens in my local supermarket - its always the one with less greens in it, and if the supermarket can put that on top to do me out of a few leaves, i can dig to the bottom of the crate to make sure i get a full pack.

You should be ashamed. People like you are a menace to good society.

Yabu

My DH does it with non-perishables though

A menace to good society

I like that. I'm going to use it on dh next time he pisses me off.

I do this as well.

Perhaps this is why those ordering online often get goods that are very close to their use by date.

Sometimes the stackers are lazy and put the new stock at the front, so check the dates!

How is it selfish? If I am buying bread to last all week, I look for the longest date. If I am buying to eat today, or to freeze, then something with a short date or today is fine. Common sense surely?

You do have to check the dates, sometimes the longest dated is at the front.

I would do this with things like ham and yoghurts

I do this and don't shop online because IME they send stuff that is very close to being out of date. I'm particularly neurotic fussy about eggs and will search through the whole lot in order to get the ones with the remotest use by dates.

I'm not fussy once I've got the stuff home though and wouldn't dream of throwing an item away unless it was actually off.

I only do it if I know I need it to last a while.

YANBU I do it. Especially with meats and fish

I think you are a bit U. I take food which has a date relevant to when I want to eat it. If I'm eating it that day, a long date is irrelevant.

It's not selfisdh to pick fresh food from the back of the display. Greengrocers (everyone know what they are?) used to go to wholesale markets that morning and have the goods on their shelves by the time the shop opened. We knew that they had probably been picked the previous day. How long is it before tomatoes or turnips reach the supermarket shelves from the original supplier? A day? 2 days? A week? We just don't know, do we?

YANBU I do that too, and that's why I don't do online shopping. I'm too much of a control freak!

YANBu.....I always do this at supermarkets....

Why is it selfish? You're paying for something, you get to pick what you want.

If I'm buying a loaf to last, for example, I will, but if I know it will all be eaten in a day it so I just grab from the front. Swings and roundabouts.

You better all watch you don't get a lazy employee putting the new stuff at the front!

As long as you tidy the shelves back up again I don't see a problem.

Always take it from the back, and check the date's better than what's at the front.

I used to work for Sainsbury's many moons ago, so know how it all works. Even the fresh fruit and veg. If there's a new box underneath I lift the top box to get to the fresher stuff.

But, on some stuff that I can freeze I'll go to the reductions with the yellow labels.

I have no shame

I love it when people leave all the short dated stuff as it means there will be plenty of decent yellow stickers stuff.
I go through at least a loaf of bread a day so buy yellow sticker and freeze, take it out each evening and it is fine for the next day. Meat i buy whatever decent stuff has been yellow stickered and freeze then defrost on the day i want to eat it.
Saves me a bloody fortune. I got 5 packs of chicken, 1 fresh tuna streaks and 1 lamb pack yesterday all reduced by 75%.

I always check the dates and have been known to lift up a box to get at fresher stuff underneath. If shops don't want you to buy stuff it should nnt be on the shelves.
YANBU

I do it sometimes, if I'm going to eat it thatday or the next I won't bother. I hate when people mess up shelves doing it or throw stuff on the floor. I have seen people do it with newspapers too, and make a big mess, whatever that's about.

It's not just about getting the best possible date. My mum works in a well known big supermarket and says that every hour the staff do a 'put back' run, meaning they go along collecting all the stuff left at the end of the tills where people have decided they don't want that item after all. This means that fresh cold food can be out of the refrigerator for over an hour before the staff but it back on the shelves - and usually they plonk it back right at the front. I dont fancy eating fish/chicken/meat that has been refrigerated, warmed up a little out of the fridge, back in the fridge and then into my trolley for the same to happen all over again, so this is my main reason for picking items from the back

Why would you bother though if you're going to eat it that day, seems like a total waste of effort (and actually yes a bit selfish) but of course you would do it if you know you're going to be eating it later in the week.

Is there actually anyone who wouldn't check the sell by date on something they know they won't eat straight away.