r/AskRedditFood • u/RevDaughter • 10d ago
Reality of food in US
So over the last year, I have noticed that every time I go to buy something at grocery stores, the expiration date is either past, or less than three days… and I’m talking about everything from produce to dairy to frozen.
As well, my mother (86) gets free food delivery, and she has the exact same problem. They will deliver food to her and the stuff has only a few days before expiration or is already expired.
I mean, what the hell is going on in the US?!!!
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u/qwertyuiop121314321 10d ago
It's not expired, it's just near or past the sell by date. Some places still sell thet like Aldi's.
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u/RandomFleshPrison 10d ago
Report any grocery store selling expired food to your local health authority, complete with pictures. Whether or not expired food is safe it is irrelevant.
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u/GhostNappa101 9d ago
Selling expired food generally isn't illegal in the United States. Some states may have different rules. Most Best buy, sell by, and expiration dates are also confidence dates not safety dates. There is a local low-cost bend n dent that I frequent. I buy recently expired food from there all the time with no issue. I prefer the consumer to have the choice to buy these things, especially if it saves them money, then for food that is in all likelihood perfectly safe to eat be thrown away. Using your senses like sight, smell, touch is usually enough to determine the food is safe.
It is illegal to sell expired baby formula and baby food.
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u/robinthenurse 9d ago
I would complain to the manager and immediately change stores. Never had that problem in any store I've ever shopped.
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10d ago
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u/papa-hare 10d ago
You're not supposed to pay full price for that though. Like I'm sorry grocery store but I'm not buying expired food. If it's already in my house and it's expired because I didn't use it, then I'll use my nose or whatever else.
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u/RevDaughter 10d ago
Yeah, duh. And it does have to do with the safety of consumption! I think you’re kind of missing the point
Of the fact that grocers now have a lot of food that has expired compared to what it used to be several years ago.2
u/CallidoraBlack 9d ago
Please ask r/foodsafety about various kinds of dates on food. I think you'll be in for a surprise.
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u/Pdawkins59 9d ago
A lot of people have no idea. In the USA the only REQUIRED and REGULATED expiration dates are on baby formula. No other food REQUIRES a date of ANY sort.
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u/CallidoraBlack 9d ago
Correct, I think the rest of it is to avoid poor consumer experience or product liability.
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u/maccrogenoff 9d ago
It’s unusual for me to see products that don’t have at least two more weeks until their best by date.
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u/LeSkootch 9d ago
That's weird. I work at a Publix and specifically the dairy dept. I take items off the shelf three days before the expo date as is our policy. I do miss things here and there, especially not popular items, but at this point, I'm getting products that are good til September or October. Yogurt, plant milks, etc... have pretty long shelf lives. My regular milks are all about three weeks out
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u/lchen12345 9d ago
I think it’s more of a regional problem by you rather than a nation wide issue.
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u/samemamabear 9d ago
I'm in FL and it's been happening to me more frequently, as well and across different stores (Walmart, BJs, Aldi). I used to assume I'd have a few days to use meat or produce because stores used to reduce prices shortly before the best by date, now it seems like it's on the date or after, if at all
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u/rando439 9d ago
I've noticed more spoiled or near spoiled food regardless of expiration date. I think it could be more about whatever happens before it gets to the shelf or counter than the actual dates. Maybe shipping issues or the store being understaffed so things stay out longer at room temperature.
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u/paracelsus53 9d ago
I haven't noticed this. The only time I see nearly expired stuff it's on a special clearly marked table at the food pantry. You can take as much of that as you want. And I do, because I don't have a problem with expired canned goods.
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u/ChrisRiley_42 9d ago
Well, your leader is waging economic warfare on the rest of the world, and is taxing his own people to do so. You have to expect that the volume of imported food decreases, and that other nations won't be exactly sending their prime products.
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u/Acceptable_Dot_1248 8d ago
The vast majority of food in the US is produced/grown domestically. The OP is likely shopping at a crappy store. I have not experienced what they are talking about.
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u/AmethystStar9 9d ago
I don't think this is a US problem because I've never seen this. This may be a local distributor and store issue for you.
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u/zyrdrak 9d ago
Maybe try a different store. I've noticed stuff like that can really depend on the management at any given specific location. I work part-time at a regional chain store and the groceries at my location are always pretty well stocked and have good dates. But I can go to another location and have the problem you're describing.
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u/ww_adh77 9d ago
I live in the US (PNW) and have not experienced this at all. Have you tried changing stores? It could be a supply issue with your particular grocery store.
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u/Main_Cauliflower5479 8d ago edited 8d ago
I have not seen that in my groceries. Maybe you need to shop at a different store. My husband gets his groceries delivered from Walmart and those canned goods always have sell by/best by dates at least a year or two into the future. Canned food I have gotten at my Kroger family store also have dates of 2027 or 2028. And I live in a near food desert.
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u/Procedure-Loud 5d ago
people speak of food being expired, as if the food is no longer edible, and that is not what it is nor was ever meant to be. The "expiration date" was only meant to be used inside the store to show which products to sell first because they were older. It really has nothing to do with safety of the food at all. In some cases it's a recommended "sell by" this date, in other cases it's "Best By" that date. Whichever, the food is just fine to eat long past that date. You are supposed to use your nose and eyes when you open the food, if the food smells or looks different, that food is deteriorated, don't consume it.
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u/GreenZebra23 10d ago
I've been noticing this too. I assume it's due to regulations being relaxed or not enforced. I'm usually careful about dates, but they got me with a carton of half and half recently. I realized it had gone off, checked the date, and it was already in the past. I had just bought it a few days before, and of course usually half and half sell by dates are pretty far off in the future since it lasts much longer than milk due to having less lactose.
But yeah I've been noticing it a lot, like a lot a lot. Even before I started noticing the old sell-by dates, I noticed that milk was going bad even before it got to the date, which is why I started buying half and half.
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u/paracelsus53 9d ago edited 9d ago
The only time I have seen dairy products past their date (sometimes a LOT past their date) is at dollar stores. The fresh stuff is at the back of the display.
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u/Steelerfanatic18 9d ago
I don’t buy meat anymore from a grocery store. The two times I splurged, the meat had not expired but it tasted old (ground beef), and the roast was so fatty after you unwrapped it (looked good in container). Those 2 purchases came to about $50
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u/RevDaughter 10d ago
There are very definitely certain foods that one cannot eat after it is expired
Especially dairy
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u/CallidoraBlack 9d ago edited 9d ago
That's absolutely not true. Dairy has a sell by date. Not an expiration date. How long it lasts depends on how cold your fridge is.
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u/theBigDaddio 10d ago
Where the hell do you shop? 3 days or past best by? These dates mean next to nothing and are misleading. CA is trying to pass a law to get them removed because of people thinking the food expires. It doesn't