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What do supermarkets do with unsold food


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Old 04-11-2010, 17:56
bakedjelly
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Hello DS,
I’m curious to know if anyone has any idea of what happens to fruit/veg and meat when it goes past the sell-by date. I know some of it gets marked down but if it still doesnt sell, what happens to it after that? I did a bit of searching online but most of the info I found was outdated (ie news articles from a couple years ago). Do supermarkets just bin the stuff?? Or are there more modern practices in place to reduce/reuse waste??
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Old 04-11-2010, 17:57
stud u like
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Some products they give away to poor people.
Some products they donate to zoos.
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Old 04-11-2010, 19:55
Swarfega
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M&S sell the out of date items to staff at a quarter price. If this has already been reduced during the day then effectively that's one eighth the original price. The remaining items used to go to a local pig farmer but this was stopped for one reason or another. Currently waste food goes to be composted.
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Old 04-11-2010, 20:13
motsy
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They fling it.
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Old 04-11-2010, 21:20
breppo
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As we all could see, or could have seen, in The Great British Waste Menu, most of the unsold products are just binned.
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Old 05-11-2010, 08:23
dosanjh1
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I think the policy is enacted locally but head offices encourage the stores to dump it.

They don't like giving it to charity as they fear sales will be effected by staff purposefully not selling stuff or customes not buying in the knowledge it will go to a good cause.
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Old 05-11-2010, 10:49
Free as a bird
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M&S sell the out of date items to staff at a quarter price. If this has already been reduced during the day then effectively that's one eighth the original price. The remaining items used to go to a local pig farmer but this was stopped for one reason or another. Currently waste food goes to be composted.
This is one(just one ) of the reasons to work for M&S. Last night I picked up some chicken, lamb, rice, prawns, and a few other bits for just over a fiver. Hoping I can pick up a few more bits tonight,

When I used to work for another rival supermarket, I used to do the waste, and the amount I had to throw away was disgusting, about three carrier bags each time.

There were about 14 packets of rolls, in good condition, which I said to my boss they should go in the staffroom, and the staff can have them for free, but he told me to just throw them away
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Old 05-11-2010, 11:06
dids858
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I went passed a Eat sandwich shop the other night and piled outside the door with bags full of sandwiches and salads. The homeless were flocking around it.

So I guess they dont sell anything that is left over for the next day.
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Old 05-11-2010, 14:19
gemma-the-husky
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don't they ever just shove another sell by date on it.
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Old 05-11-2010, 15:14
koantemplation
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I used to live and work with a charity for the homeless and we would go to the local Marks and Spencers once a week to collect their out of date stuff.

Most of it was bread with the odd luxury meal such as lobster thermidor..

Most of the really good stuff had already been brought at discount by the staff.
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Old 05-11-2010, 15:50
grassmarket
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Most of it was bread with the odd luxury meal such as lobster thermidor..
Goes down a treat with an unpretentious White Lightening cider, I am told.
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Old 05-11-2010, 16:34
Special K_
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They chuck in huge bins outside at the back so people can go and help themselves.
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Old 05-11-2010, 17:17
ejak
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When I asked at my local lidls if I could take some spoiled cucumbers for my pigs, I was told that all spoiled, off, and out of date products get shipped back to the distribution centre. What a waste of resources. She said that they were very strict about it, saying that if 100 cucumbers came in and 91 were sold they would have to account for the other 9 by sending them back.
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Old 05-11-2010, 17:54
degsyhufc
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My local lidl put sell by date food on the packing shelf behind the checkouts.
I rememeber when I went in for the first time and only bought 1 or 2 items and the checkout guy said there was free food on the shelf.

I got two packs of sausages, two ready meals and 2 pints of milk for free
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Old 05-11-2010, 23:20
Swarfega
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They chuck in huge bins outside at the back so people can go and help themselves.
We used to do that too, until the local tramps got messy and scattered everything everywhere (who'd have thunk?). SIlly buggers, could have been eating like kings if they'd just been tidier.
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Old 05-11-2010, 23:23
Little-Ian
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Tesco's somtimes sell donoughts for 18p.
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Old 06-11-2010, 00:41
c4rv
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Tesco's somtimes sell donoughts for 18p.
You being ripped off, our local one sells 5 for 10p, lol
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Old 06-11-2010, 00:58
RubusRoo
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If it's out of code, it's disposed of in a skip which is meant to be locked.

I guess it depends on the retailer though. I know we certainly don't give anything away to the poor or anyone else for that matter. It's put in a massive skip the size of a shipping container & then squashed by a compacter. It smells absolutely awful.
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Old 06-11-2010, 19:38
-GONZO-
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don't they ever just shove another sell by date on it.
No because that's illegal.
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Old 06-11-2010, 22:14
euphie
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My local lidl put sell by date food on the packing shelf behind the checkouts.
I rememeber when I went in for the first time and only bought 1 or 2 items and the checkout guy said there was free food on the shelf.

I got two packs of sausages, two ready meals and 2 pints of milk for free
Only ever happened me once, but my dog and cat were so happy with their free ham!

I worked for Lidl years back, and everything was just written down, then thrown into bins, maybe things have changed now, but the skips were just open, and people could raid them if they so desired
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Old 06-11-2010, 22:19
Swarfega
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don't they ever just shove another sell by date on it.
And besides it being illegal, the sell by date is on the actual packaging so changing it is impossible.

Though I may or may not (ahem) have seen items such as potatoes transferred to another container holding a longer date.
I'm half in favour of doing such things within reason. It's ridiculous giving root vegetables sell by dates.
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Old 07-11-2010, 19:19
Russ_WWFC
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ASDA's just chuck all their stuff, not even allowed/or try to sell it to staff, even though it's perfectly fine.

Sainsbury's (used to anyway) sell it to staff for pennies
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Old 09-11-2010, 12:41
bakedjelly
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This is one(just one ) of the reasons to work for M&S. Last night I picked up some chicken, lamb, rice, prawns, and a few other bits for just over a fiver. Hoping I can pick up a few more bits tonight
that sounds great. and the stuff tastes good? its safe to eat?

I think its pretty appaling that there doesnt seem to be much that supermarkets are doing to reuse/recycle waste, or even better reduce it.. I guess though, if they ordered less stuff, people would complain when there wasnt enough stock to go around.

I like the idea of food being sent to zoos but it seems like theres way more waste than there are zoos. what about using food waste as biofuels?

is there anything the consumer can do to discourage supermarket waste? it seems all we can do is cut down on our own personal waste. or maybe write letters, but I doubt tesco/sainsburys would care that a handful of people are concerned about food waste :/
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Old 09-11-2010, 15:53
Swarfega
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that sounds great. and the stuff tastes good? its safe to eat?
It's totally safe to eat. In fact M&S dates are ridiculously relaxed. I buy our waste all the time and eat it days past the date at which it was meant to be eaten by. Don't get me started on customers who think food goes bad at the stroke of midnight. Anyway, yes its perfectly safe. My own record of a week past sell by date was recently improved upon. I had a chicken piri piri curry that was 15 days past. No ill effects whatsoever.
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Old 11-11-2010, 12:59
BZR
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Goes down a treat with an unpretentious White Lightening cider, I am told.
lmao !
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