SuperBuy grocery has the convenient baby food that is sold in packets, ALL of what is on their shelf is way past the expiration date. I reported this to a store employee, which was obvious she could care less. The packets are still on the shelf for sale!
Yes, this is country wide, even with medicines.
I admit this is a shock to the sensibilities of a U.S. traveler. I was one of those taken aback. Just one of the many assumptions that need re-level-set in Belize.
My dear mother swears those dates are irrelevant and are the efforts of manufacturers to sell more stuff. I think that a few weeks out of date for packaged goods usually is not a big deal. Refrigerated dairy products are another issue .... And of course sometimes the pasta has bugs in it. I don't eat bugs.
Boy we haven't had this discussion in quite a while. Used to be we talked about this everyday. I believe out of date items are not as evident as say 5 years ago and certainly not as 10 years ago. I always look out of habit but things are much, much better than they used to be. I don't believe there is as much "repackaging" as we use to hear about either.
I'm with Diane, most items that are over by a few months are fine but again common sense. Pasta, milk, cereal and such I leave behind.
Also if you want to make a complaint in a store you should seek out someone with authority to remedy your complaint and an ordinary employee is usually not that avenue, especially here in Belize. If that employee acted without direction they could be looking for a new job.
If you're not bothered about sell by dates, which I'm not particularly, you can always ask the retailer for a discount because the item is out of date.
In my experience the items that are on sale are so horrid that they're only good for the bin. I think they only go on sale when there have been so many complaints it's obvious that no one will buy them anymore. I picked up a good deal on Peligrino in December from a certain store and every single bottle was dead flat and disgusting tasting; how they I accomplished that I'll never know.
Ooh. I get some good things in the sale, but I do also ask for a discount on items that are not on sale if they are past their sell by dates. Mustard and dill gherkins are two items I scored well on in sales.
Yeah, I'd be sure someone else tried the expired baby food first. Like, maybe an adult.