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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:

Bigolbuttt · 01/08/2023 22:47

What items don’t have dates on?

I went shopping in Aldi and my bag of peppers, mini cucumbers, lettuce, strawberries, blueberries etc all have dates on…

dementedpixie · 01/08/2023 22:54

Bigolbuttt · 01/08/2023 22:47

What items don’t have dates on?

I went shopping in Aldi and my bag of peppers, mini cucumbers, lettuce, strawberries, blueberries etc all have dates on…

It depends on the shop. It's been fruit/veg that I've seen with codes rather than dates

TheDogthatDug · 01/08/2023 23:02

Aldi and Lidl have always been bad for lfruit and veg. If you can trying storing your fruit and veg somewhere dark and coolish, not cold. As for sell by/use by dates, take no notice, greengrocers produce doesn't have them. If it smells and looks OK then it normally is.

DdraigGoch · 01/08/2023 23:02

brokenlore · 01/08/2023 22:02

Make sure you remove all fruit and veg from any plastic wrap or packaging, if you are worried it might pick up odour from your fridge or larder / pantry/ cupboard store it in a glass container with breathable lid, or wrap in grease proof paper and foil, it reduces the sweating and helps keep it fresh for a bit longer. Potatoes, apple and tomatoes are better stored at room temperature. Potatoes and apples will keep best in a hessian sack (not together in the sack though).

I buy potatoes by the full 25kg paper sack. They last me 3 months (plus however long the wholesaler stored them for) with few losses. If they sprout or go a little bit soft I use them first (pulling off any tubers) and you can't tell once they're cooked.

pinksheetss · 01/08/2023 23:14

The date is on them, the code on with a number. Whatever the number is relates to the date of month for out of date

jonahjones · 01/08/2023 23:47

Mutinyonthecrunchie · 01/08/2023 19:45

What is wrong with buying frozen instead? It is prepared and frozen so retains it's nutrients. So called 'fresh' will have been harvested and store in temperature controlled units. It's then transported to distribution centres then onto the shops where it is stored. Then moved onto the shop floor under shop lights and handled by randoms to be purchased then stored at home. To me fresh it is something that has been harvested within a day or two at the latest. The so called fresh could be several weeks old.

frozen veg doesn't taste anywhere near as nice as fresh veg. I prefer fresh everytime although I do tend to have the odd bag of frozen in for convenience.

oviraptor21 · 01/08/2023 23:56

I haven't noticed any difference at all.
Buy my groceries online at Tesco so it's not like I even choose them. Most fruit/veg keeps for at least a week in the fridge.
The only thing which is dire, and this is across the board, is bananas, which barely last 2-3 days before being too ripe, but that's been a thing for several years now.

Bonfire23 · 02/08/2023 01:10

LlynTegid · 01/08/2023 20:12

Have you not got a local market you can buy fruit and veg from OP?

Ours is in town. So parking is tight and expensive
Plus they're open weekdays only. No use for me
Local greengrocer closed down. They were also only open weekdays

Cheesusisgrate · 02/08/2023 05:26

Bonfire23 · 02/08/2023 01:10

Ours is in town. So parking is tight and expensive
Plus they're open weekdays only. No use for me
Local greengrocer closed down. They were also only open weekdays

Show quote history

Any foreign shops?
They often have great fruit and veg + per weight + some interest. It's date season, I used tp by fresh in one.

PuddlesPityParty · 02/08/2023 05:44

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.

This - make sure you’re storing it all correctly OP.

Lincslady53 · 02/08/2023 06:03

How are you all keeping your fruit and veg? Aldi has been our main choice for about 10 years, as it is the nearest and we rarely have a problem with mould f n v. In hot weather we keep some in the fridge. Some in the shed, some in a fruit bowl. We check what it looks and feels like when we buy. The problem we do have is 'Ready to eat' fruit being hard and needing a couple if days to ripen.

Spacie · 02/08/2023 13:48

Kazzyhoward · 01/08/2023 19:28

A lot of it has also travelled huge distances in slow cargo ships, so together with cold storage once in the UK, things could be several weeks old (or longer) before it even gets to the supermarket.

Another poster upthread mentioned potatoes lasting for months, which is fine, but they're not dug up the day before they are put on supermarket shelves, are they? They could have been in transit/storage for months, so once out of the cold store, may be at the end of their storage lives by the time they get on the shelf.

Show quote history

I had my first new season maincrop potatoes (Maris Piper) from Tesco this week. The difference compared to the previous week's bag (last of last year,s crop - been in storage for months) was like night and day. I'm afraid the remains of the old bag went on the compost heap.

popgoesthecat2 · 02/08/2023 13:54

Use by dates only benefit the retailers, as it means they don't have to discount and can sell things for longer. It's nothing to do with food waste, as usually they would discount things so much they would be sold anyway.

andymary · 02/08/2023 14:15

Some items from Morrisons I've seen have "Display Until" dates on.
So the staff know when to put it in the reductions section.

blobby10 · 02/08/2023 14:19

Not just supermarkets - my local farmshop, which claims to source its veg on its own farm in the area, have had a deterioration in quality this year. I bought a bag of Kale on Sunday, much more expensive that it usually is, and half of it is all yellow and mouldy looking already rather than crisp and green.

FrogsWormsandCaterpillars · 02/08/2023 21:39

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

The supermarket I work at doesn’t use julienne codes

Normax · 30/08/2023 16:23

I am making the same experiences with my fresh food deliveries - they go off very quickly since no use by or sell by date is available. It is costing me more money and I have to process the extra waste instead of the supermarket.

Anna8089 · 16/01/2024 03:18

Yes they do.

dementedpixie · 16/01/2024 06:34

They do have dates on but may not be in the usual format e.g. may just have a number instead of a full date. They have to have something so the supermarket can rotate their stock.

Kazzyhoward · 16/01/2024 16:44

Normax · 30/08/2023 16:23

I take something back to the supermarket for refund almost every week, when it's gone off within a few days of purchase. They're always happy enough (well not happy but they don't argue), so it's obviously common and they know to expect a higher level of returns/refunds now that use by dates aren't shown.

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