Expiration Dates

Friday, August 27, 2010

We get a lot of questions about expiration dates. Since we are a extreme bargain retailer, we've had customers assume that we sell expired or bad food. While it is true that we sell products closer to their sell by dates than a conventional supermarket, we are extraordinarily careful not to sell anything that is spoiled or bad. Above all, we care about our customers' safety and satisfaction.

It's a tricky thing to understand fully, but in our business, some dates are used as guides and some are strict dates. It's very important to know the difference between expiration dates, sell by dates, and best by dates. Here's some information to help you untangle the difference between each type of date.

Best if used by and use-by date: With emphasis on the "best" qualifier in this term, it means the product should retain maximum freshness, flavor and texture if used by this date. It is not a purchase-by or safety date. Beyond this date, the product is still good, though you should keep an eye on it to make sure it's still fresh.

Sell-by or pull-by date: This date is used by manufacturers to tell grocers when to remove their product from the shelves, but there is generally still some leeway for home usage. For example, milk often has a sell-by date, but the milk will usually still be good for at least a week beyond that date if properly refrigerated.

Guaranteed fresh: This date is often used for perishable baked goods. Beyond this date, freshness is no longer guaranteed although it's probably still edible.

Pack date: This is the date the item was packed, most-used on canned and boxed goods. It is usually in the form of an encrypted code not easy to decipher. It may be coded by month (M), day (D), and year (Y), such as YYMMDD or MMDDYY. Or it may be coded using Julian (JJJ) numbers, where January 1 would be 001 and December 31 would be 365. In even more convoluted coding, letters A through M (omitting the letter I) are often assigned to the months, with A being January and M being December, plus a numeric day, either preceded or followed by the numeric year.

Expiration date: If you haven't used the product by this date, toss it out. Other dating terms are used as a basic guideline, but this one means what it says.

Information gathered from this article on About.com.

Each product is different! To get more information on expiration dates, including a comprehensive list of products and their freshness time frame, check out this wiki article on expiration dates. We were really impressed by it.

Stay fresh!

For your Information Be Well Grocery Outlet Frugal Living

Comments 9

Allie 29 Aug, 05:06 PM
I have seen several items in the store that are past their expiration date. Sometimes they are set aside or marked down more, but sometimes they are right on the shelf. I have to be very careful with what I buy, but it's still worth all the great deals on the un-expired items. Just double check each item!!!
ScottinAZ 31 Aug, 08:56 AM
I think for the most part expiration dates are more about marketing than food safety. Manufacturer's need to sell product.. if they didn't put a date on the can of beans then it could potentially sit on a shelf for years. Bottled water has and expiration date now? really? since when does H2O expire? Although there may be items I wouldn't care too much for beyond a reasonable date, I'll buy out of date food any day to save $$. How many people look at the dates in their own pantry before cooking a meal? It's not as if the food magically degrades to poison at the strike of midnight!
JR 1 Sep, 01:50 AM
This is a very good and important topic to tackle. I am a devoted Grocery Outlet shopper and adore this store but I have learned it crucial to always check sale dates, especially on the fridge items. I have seen things for sale that are just about to expire, same day or even days to weeks past sale date. These items are generally marked down dramatically but I do not feel it safe or approperiate to sell things past their sale date/ Sorry but that's a big store no no in my book and not worth the risk of people's health or the company getting in trouble is someone gets sick and sues.

Best advice is to always check the sale date and if you can't see it then don't buy it. Sometimes expiration dates are smeared or unavailable which makes things very sketchy. Stick wiht what you know is going to be okay and if you see something very out of date then report it so they can remove it from the shelves. I have done this at stores because and they were grateful for the assistance.

There's no excuse not to check the datea and Grocery Outlet is the kind of store that requires extra shopping time since there is so much great stuff to chose from! Allowing yourself a few extra minutes to check dates during your shopping adventure should not be a problem... the problem is not checking and then the problems that manifest from there after if you get sick so please check!!!
PJ 1 Sep, 12:38 PM
I shop at many other stores from PCC to Trader Joes and they also have products on the shelf that are close to the expiration date or even expire that day. It's our responsibility as consumers to check the date to make sure we are buying quality products. I love Grocery Outlet!
michael 7 Sep, 12:02 PM
If you buy meat products or cookable product, usually you can precook and freeze them properly or just freeze them and use as soon as possible. Also consult the store personnel they are great!
Daniel 13 Sep, 04:05 PM
I have been shopping at grocery outlet for years. I have never seen anything past "expiration date" on the shelf, but I have seen some past "pull by" or "best by".
Sure there is a risk if you eat something a week past those dates... but for the most part its only going to harm those with weak immune systems.
This set he posted is extremely accurate and about the only things that have an expiration date that you'd want to really watch are milk products (minus cheese) and meats.

Also, to the guy who mentioned the date on the bottled water, Two things can happen. 1. The bottle wasn't completely pasteurized and the few bacteria left alive breed and by that date make the water "un-safe" or 2. The air in the water separates and the water is flat.
Lola 16 Sep, 02:02 PM
I actually consider the Grocery Outlets that I shop at better at keeping track of expiration dates than other major retailers. I can't tell you how many times I've gone to a Safeway or Albertsons and came home with moldy potatoes, expired dressing, past dated sour cream, etc. I've never really had that happen at Grocery Outlet, probably because they're so much more careful than those other stores.

I think that people notice when Grocery Outlet sells items that are close to expiration more often because they're more critical of an outlet store and automatically start checking.
Leanna 17 Sep, 10:37 PM
Grocery Outlet is GREAT. I have been shopping there for a couple years now. The deals and savings are amazing, and they offer much more than food. Just the other day I bought one pack of strawberries from Albertsons for $2.50, and the next day I discovered mold starting to grow on them. I went up to Grocery Outlet, and they had the same size pack of strawberries grown in the same state and city as the ones from Albertsons, only these ones where much fresher and they where two for $3.00. Needless to say I bought the cheaper fresher ones from Grocery Outlet. Later that day I took the bad strawberries back to Albertsons for a refund, and it was a hassle to get them to refund my money. In the years I have shopped at Grocery Outlet I have only had to return one item, and they didn't hassle me about it.
hawk 2 Apr, 08:48 AM
I've shopped at Grocery Outlet for quite a few years. I really enjoy the store here locally. I'm sure the rest are just as great.

Since I'm now on a strict fixed income, I'll sure continue shopping here. The amount of money I save is stupendous.