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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Bring back the use by dates

70 replies

Nowfreefromangst · 01/08/2023 10:48

Im all for reducing food waste, but...
This week I have had mouldy green beans and rotten potatoes from a well known discount supermarket.
I only bought both of these 3 days ago, surely they should last longer than that.
I wonder if supermarkets are now putting on the shelves, vegetables and fruits that are near the end of their shelf life to not only cut down food waste, but also increase profit and staff don't have to worry too much about stock rotation.
So the food waste of inedible vegetables is now from my pocket and not the retailers!
Should there be a display by date maybe for retailers rather than a use by or best before?
Yabu - retailers have a responsibility to reduce food waste
Yanbu - why should retailers be allowed to sell rotten fruit and veg

OP posts:

dementedpixie · 01/08/2023 16:37

Are there not codes on the packaging that might signal which is the freshest product? I bought some fruit the other day and one had code D4 and the other D6. I figured the 4 and 6 might relate to a date so chose the D6 packet

Kazzyhoward · 01/08/2023 16:40

Just take it back for a refund. It's what I do regularly now. Never had a problem with them refunding, so it must happen a lot.

Dacadactyl · 01/08/2023 16:41

Take them back. I always take stuff back if it goes off before I think it should have.

I just took a mouldy pepper back to a shop earlier and got 3 new fresh ones because I said I'd bought a multipack and had had to make a special trip back to the supermarket to complain. Didn't have the receipt but I'd only bought the peppers 2 days ago.

If enough people do that they'll soon make sure that things last.

Gingerkittykat · 01/08/2023 17:45

Aldi veg is well known for being terrible, it is class 2 rather than class 1 that other supermarkets sell.

I agree about the dates, I shop at Asda and now go to Tesco more often for the dates on the veg.

PickAChew · 01/08/2023 17:48

Class 2 doesn't mean rotten. It just means the shape and size isn't up to a certain standard and it might not be as pretty to look at.

IchWill · 01/08/2023 17:50

They don't have use by dates in greengrocers, farm shops and on market stalls. Plus I tend to find the produce is usually better quality.

dementedpixie · 01/08/2023 17:56

I suppose the wonky fruit/veg is class 2 rather than class 1. They are just products that are a different shape/size than class 1.

Flickersy · 01/08/2023 18:09

Fruit and vegetables don't turn rotten overnight. Potatoes don't go from freshly picked to rotten in three days. They store for months.

Check for freshness before you buy. Is the flesh firm, is the skin clean and smooth, what's the colour like, are there bruises or has it been damaged etc. And make sure you store it appropriately when you get it home. Keep green and runner beans in a slightly damp (not dripping) kitchen towel in the crisper section of the fridge.

Butterflyfluff · 01/08/2023 18:13

There must be a way for the supermarkets to tell which is the newest stock so they can rotate it - they can hardly do the sniff test on milk! 😂

BusinessClass · 01/08/2023 18:16

I think 2-3 days for fruit and veg and anything longer than that is a bonus. Going back to the shop and asking for a refund based on what you think it should last? Bonkers

Cheesusisgrate · 01/08/2023 18:24

I shop for veg and fruit mainly in foreign shops. No dates, can pick what I want and well guess how long it will lasy.I shop weekly and stuff does last. I use the ones known to goe fast first. When I was reliant on supermarkets for a while I went often for frozen. Only so many shit broccolis one can tolerate.

Aldi veg and fruit was always false economy for me because they lasted only couple of days usually.

Cheesusisgrate · 01/08/2023 18:26

ASDA is now shit too. Ocado still holds and for very similar if not same prices

Cheesusisgrate · 01/08/2023 18:28

Check your fridge temp btw and if you arr storing things properly.
Potatoes should last a looong while

muddyday · 01/08/2023 18:29

Yep stuff doesn’t stay fresh anymore I’ve given up with it. No longer can I seem to buy peppers or spinach from one of the main supermarkets and have them last more than 48hrs. Makes it impossible to shop for the week unless I go to a high end supermarket. I’m usually in the shops 4-5 times a week shopping for our evening meal on the night I’m going to cook it

LittleMonks11 · 01/08/2023 18:30

It's creating more waste as you can't choose the freshest - I bought a cucumber from Sainsburys the other week, got home, opened it for dinner, all mouldy one end. I tweeted a pic and they refunded me. Ridiculous.

LolaSmiles · 01/08/2023 18:34

Fruit and veg didn't have use by dates. Didn't they just have the silly best before dates where rock hard pears were apparently past their best before date.

I don't think produce being past its best within 3 days is to do with the BB dates though. I suspect, but have no proof, that it's probably due to supply chain issues.

CirreltheSquirrel · 01/08/2023 18:36

I've had issues with deliveries too - they used to flag short dated products and you could reject them. With no dates that gets harder!

MySugarBabyLove · 01/08/2023 18:39

I find potatoes never last any more.

I buy a bag of potatoes and within a day or two they’re sprouting. And why can you only buy potatoes in massive quantities. If I could buy loose potatoes that would be so much better than having to buy 2.5kg of them.

PabloFlowerface · 01/08/2023 18:41

I work for m and s and yep- the produce is still dated. It's called a julienne code and if you look, you'll spot it on produce. That's across the board in all supermarkets

Incessantnamechangin · 01/08/2023 18:44

Sainsburies is also shocking - not just the discount supermarkets .Definitely going to be studying the codes in future !

Sirzy · 01/08/2023 18:44

Maybe a date of packing would be more useful. But I agree with getting rid of the dates because too many people relied on the date rather than their nose/eyes

BeaumontLivingston · 01/08/2023 18:52

I remember watching my friend’s husband fill a bin bag with perfectly good fresh produce because it was at its use by.
I was visibly perplexed and horrified.
I think instead of scrapping use by dates, we put a big ad campaign out there to say ‘hey, you know if things seem okay you can still use them even if they’re past the use by?’
You certainly don’t need it on fresh produce but you need it on anything processed.

khakitrousers · 01/08/2023 18:54

I used my eyes, nose and common sense when we had best before dates.

Since they have been removed, I am wasting far more fruit and veg which is now inedible within a day or two of purchase - Sainsburys I'm looking at you.

BeaumontLivingston · 01/08/2023 18:55

Wait, they've been removed?
On just fresh stuff?

Have they taken them off packaged stuff? That could be fun.

BarelyLiterate · 01/08/2023 19:03

Fresh fruit, veg & salad never had ‘use by’ dates. They had ‘best before’ dates, which were a guideline not a deadline.

The problem was that too many people didn’t understand the difference between the two and, instead of using their eyes, nose & common sense, threw away perfectly good produce because it was ‘out of date’.

I agree that fruit & veg at Aldi & Lidl sometimes doesn’t last as long as produce from other supermarkets but, as with anything else in life, you get what you pay for. If you want the best produce, buy it from a decent greengrocer or from M&S.

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