Check dates when you buy at Foodland

[DTisme]

Yesterday bought a tub of mac salad at Foodland. It was on sale. Yay, right? Got it home and opened it and saw the top was all crusty and icky -- then saw the expiration use-by date was 5 days ago. There goes our quick picnic dinner.

Ok, bad on me, bc I didn't look, esp. bc that's the 2nd time I've bought something at Foodland that was still out past its use-by date. (other time was meat.) Hubby returned the salad today and said they were "sort of" apologetic, but you would think they'd be going "uh oh, very sorry about that. We'll have to check those dates." When I returned the meat that last time, they credited double the purchase price. This time, just purchase price.

Anyway, FYI, don't be me... always check. I don't think they have anyone over there checking the dates on things. After the "meat incident" I didn't go back for at least 6 months.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

The date on food products is a "sell by date" not an expiration date. Food is not inedible on the printed date. In the case of a crusty and icky layer on top though, I'm with you, that stuff's inedible no matter what the date says.

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." -Annie Dillard

[Mimosa]

Foodland / Sak n Save - has a bad habit of adding products to your receipt during welfare weeks when every EBT Food stamp recipient gets many items. Check your receipts prior to leaving their stores and make sure you ask for the store manager and not just a worker bee .
Our experiences at said corporation is 2 times out of 3 and such a hassle.In addition,on sale items posted,sometimes the computer upgrades will sell at full price and not the sale price posted in their weekly ad's .
We as seniors must be vigilant.
We now seldom shop at their markets as no other stores do this with such fervent regularity .


Mrs . Mimosa

[Punatic007]

Isn't Foodland a mainland corporation? Why do people shop there? All I see is very greasy chicken and sugar laden pastries as I walk in the front door. That's a sign you will be manipulated. People get doctorate degrees in marketing and sell their knowledge and skills to corporations, pay attention.

Island Naturals does the same thing with the heavily sugar laden desserts as you walk in the door in Pahoa, capitalizing on the massive sugar addictions of Americans. Which also happens to be one of if not the leading cause of cancer. Sugar feeds and promotes cancer cells, we know this unequivocally. Why does a Health Food store promote so much sugar?

[alaskyn66]

Foodland is locally owned.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sullivan_F..._Companies

[terracore]

Generally speaking, the dates on food are put there to trick us into throwing good food out.

The Orchidland "General Store" (True Value) is notorious for selling expired food. You really need to be diligent. There are "Best Before", "Buy Before", "Expiration", "Expires" etc. However, generally, it is 100% legal and safe to sell well beyond the expiration date:

http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/Transparency...210073.htm "Did you know that a store can sell food past the expiration date?"

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/09...ste-goals/ "The U.S. Government Wants To Cut Food Waste In Half"

We buy nearly-expired food all the time because its a great way to cut grocery bill by 50%. Here are some things that we have learned from doing lots of research and also from personal experience:

Generally speaking, frozen and canned foods never go bad, so long as they remain frozen or the cans remained sealed. By "never go bad" I'm only talking about food safety. The quality, taste, and texture can certainly suffer. If your cans are getting rusty its time to consider eating the food- if there are dents and rust together, or the cans are bulging, throw them out.

Cheeses can be good months beyond the expiration date especially if it was unopened when it expired. Also cheese freezes well and lasts forever while frozen. Remember some cheeses are aged for years- buying it a few days after an expiration date isn't going to change anything. Cheese making is a form of preserving dairy protein. Blocks of cheese are better keep past expiration date than sliced cheese. Hard cheeses like Parmesan that are sealed in wax are essentially good forever if you can keep them at room temperature or below.

I remember reading that they recovered a vessel of honey from a tomb in Egypt that was thousands of years old and while they didn't comment on the flavor, they did determine that it was safe to eat. (I don't remember how the vessel was sealed).

Fish or poultry from the store should be eaten or frozen soon after you buy it. Beef and pork from the store should be eaten or frozen within a few days.

Chips like Doritos seem to taste fine a month after the date. Crackers like Triscuits really need to be consumed by the expiration date (they get stale, though are probably safe to eat for a very long time).

Our bodies instinctively hard-wired to detect and react to spoiled food. That is why we have a gag reflex when smelling, seeing, or tasting something vile. Listen to what your body is saying. If the macaroni salad looks gross, toss it. In theory the acetic acid in the vinegar in the mayonnaise makes the product safe to eat past its date (assuming is has been properly refrigerated) but when in doubt, throw it out.

And by "throw it out" I really mean, feed it to whatever species you are confident won't be harmed by a crusty macaroni top (dogs, chickens, etc) or compost the rest, if practical. For most of the world's population, the concept of discarding any type of food is something that can't be fathomed.

[Punatic007]

quote:

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Originally posted by alaskyn66

Foodland is locally owned.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sullivan_F..._Companies

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I stand corrected. There are Foodland chains all over the planet in Australia, Thailand and the mainland USA but this supposedly a separate chain based out of Honolulu. Do the owners and board of directors live in Hawaii? Who knows.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Do the owners and board of directors live in Hawaii? Who knows.

Sully Sullivan moved from Ireland to Hawaii, and started Foodland in 1948. He lived here the rest of his life. His daughter now runs the chain:
http://www.foodland.com/about-us

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." -Annie Dillard

[Punatic007]

And his daughter lives in Hawaii as well or do we know?

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

And his daughter lives in Hawaii as well or do we know?

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"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." -Annie Dillard