A Food Conspiracy?
 

Is it just me or has anyone else been experiencing this?

It seems to me that there is a lot of food at the grocery store that has passed the date for sale/use. I have found several things lately, today I brought home some frozen dinner rolls that were supposed to be used by Aug 8th. I usually check dates, but not on frozen stuff.

Could be my imagination but I think...and this is only me...

I think that the economy is causing food to stay in the stores much longer...

Is it just me?

Nope, I noticed it too. Mine was a whole big box of yogurt the other day and 2 loafs of whole bread that was old enough to vote! Grrrrr I thought the same thing, the economy and peeps aren't buying as much but it still remains on the shelf for us who don't pay attention to everything we toss in our carts.
Must read everything nowadays I guess..

I have been taught to check those by my mother heehee :p It has become so horrible lately that I check everything.. My mom had stomach issues so I hope never to be in that same boat :p

I've always checked dates before I buy. Because I check I have noticed an abnormal amount of expired goods on the shelves.

Another food conspiracy I've noticed, shrinking sizes. I've noticed many foods have stayed the same price and the packages are the same size, but they have less product inside. Like mushrooms, the store I go to they are now 6oz packages, not 8oz. It seems like false economy, I'd rather pay a bit more for the same size.

Yes!!! I bought a box of Boca Chicken burgers ...the "boca in a bun" ones to take to work. I got there and noticed they were 2 months outdated! ...They were frozen, so I wasn't too concerned, and they tasted good. But still, is it right that they still had them sitting in the freezer case, charging me full price? ...same thing with choc. covered soynuts. got home and they were outdated. grrr.

this has been happening at Market of Choice a lot lately. I pretty much know certain things that are going to be there not to buy because they just don't go through them fast enough - like the canned soups that aren't organic/hippie brands. Lately it's been other stuff too though like cereal and frozen stuff. :C i thought it was just this store but now i'm wondering...

Sigh, I've seen it too. I try not to be crazy about the dates, but I always check at least a few of each item - I don't feel a need to volunteer to clear out the store's older produce / etc for them ;).

Just today, besides the rolls that I did not check because they were frozen, I found wheat tortillas, about 15 packs dated Oct. 8th ~ pico de gallo use by Oct 17 ~ wheat bread almost a week old.

I shop at a Ralph's (Krogers)

also- i keep getting veggies that look fine the day i get them and then the NEXT day they are moldy. What the heck!? This has happened twice to me with mushrooms and with fruit. I won't even consider buying fruit from Trader Joes here anymore because of it.

actually i don't think its buying per se...i think its lazy people at the store. Its there responsiblity to do what's called "first in first out". When they restock shelves they get lazy (i see it a lot more at cheeper stores like walmart than at places like publix). The stocker gets lazy....so instead of bringing the older stuff to the front and the new stuff to the back, they just cram the new stuff up front, then when they forget to check the back stuff. I've always kept an eye on this stuff (something i was trained to do when in the army as part of my inspections) so i've seen it for a while.

That has happened to me a few times in the past few months. I just bought some of the Spritzers salad dressing on sale for 99 cents and it expired in August! I never thought to look at the date! ARGH! Thank goodness it was only 99 cents! I'm am usually pretty good at checking the expiry dates...I'll be sure to check everything from now on!

UGH... hapenning around here too. I am a date checker, so have been saved for buying not good out of date tiems... but I feel my stomach toss and turn when I see shredded cheese bags hanging that are 2+ months out of date. GROSS. I can see a day or two over, but months... goodnessgracious.

Actually, what I like about TJ is that the picked date on almost all produce is so clearly marked. Much better than at regular supermarkets. I do have problem with their fruit getting moldy sometimes though. Haven't had any problem with veggies though.

Ive noticed it too , They have alot of "manager specials" on them nowadays.

Wow so it's not just me then either. I am so happy you brought this up. I have been trying to be more diligent about eating food before the expiration date because we are on a tight budget and rotted food is wasted cash. But things lately seem to be not so fresh especially the produce I am buying. I am also finding more foods at the store that have only like a day before they expire as well. I am switching to Kroger for my produce only since it just looks better but sticking to Walmart for everything else.

Oh god, I've noticed it too! It sure makes your shopping experience worse (I hate shopping as it is).

I've even thought of going "shopping" for food that is past it's prime, bring it to the till - Pile it all on, and after getting up to the till person, tell them "I'm not buying these, they're all past their expiry... just thought you should know" - then walk off.

I've gotten old stuff too. There are things I always check, especially dairy and meat, but a lot of things I don't. And I know they don't have a "sale by" date, but it makes me mad to buy a 10 pound bag of potatoes and have them covered in eyes two days later!

my low-carb tortillas say the expiration date is 2005. Since they're still fine, I'm just assuming its a type-o. God, I hope so.

yeah - tj's veggies seem to be just fine, only ever had trouble w/ the fruit that comes in the plastic containers, can't really see what you're getting til you get home.

A long time ago I used to work for a video store & we sold drinks like pop and stuff, well we also sold those little frappuchino drinks too, I was stocking one day and noticed they had expired- like a month prior! So I took them all off the shelf, told my supervisor, who got mad at me for taking them off the shelf and made me put them back! According to her they are fine for like 3 months after their expiration date. WHATEVER. I wasn't very impressed & I still have never had one of those drinks again. yuk.

I shop at safeway and I have started checking all the perishables. I found cheese that was actually COVERED in mold. And I found Mayo that was 3 months past use by date. I was pretty ticked, since Safeway tends to be a bit more expensive I expect them to get rid of old stuff. I have also notied lately that milk that use to be 2 weeks from use by date is now 4 or 5 days from use by date.