Do you check for expiry date?

expiry date - sample of date stamp of the items
@bloglog (628)
Singapore
May 20, 2009 10:04am CST
When you shop at the supermarkets, do you check for the expiry date of the can food, or tibits, or anything you pick before making payment at the counter? I usually have a habit of taking a look at the expiry date of the items before putting them into the trolley, especially for food related items or beverages.
6 people like this
40 responses
@aikhong (661)
• Malaysia
20 May 09
Ya, it is my habit too to always take a look at the expiry date of the things i buy, either in the supermarket or anywhere else. This is just to make sure the thing has not expireed yet. This is because i've seen before the can food which has already expired and yet it's still on the shelf! Since that i'll always check on the expiry date due to this incident, and also at the same time i can know and estimate whether i'm able to finish the food before it is expired.
@faisai (1138)
• Hong Kong
20 May 09
Yes, I check it and check it always. There are just too many items on the shelf that there will be chances that an item is expired and yet the supermarket personnel hasn't found that out. So, just to play safe, I will watch out for the expiry date anytime I need to purchase something.
2 people like this
@kritipen (4082)
• United States
20 May 09
Most of the time i do check for the expiry date on almost everything i purchase including dairy products. And that is also the most important thing to do when youare shoping. I found atleast twice that some expired cosmetic products were left on the shelf and i was the one wo picked them but luckly as i am in the habit of checking the expiry date, i approached the owner and let him know of this. He immediately took it off the shelf.
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@maximax8 (31055)
• United Kingdom
20 May 09
I do try to check the expiry date of food after what happened to me last month. I went shopping in a coastal town one hours bus journey away. It has a supermarket that I really love going to. I bought some vegan jam tarts but when I got home I noticed they were out of date. I was horrified so I phoned the supermarket. They took my name, address and telephone number. One week later I got a letter saying sorry and a £10 voucher to use in that supermarket. They stopped selling the vegan jam tarts so I didn't get any to eat. However I was happy with being able to spend the £10 voucher there. With it I got some delicious items of vegan food.
2 people like this
• United States
20 May 09
I think it normally depends on the food I am getting. For example, milk in my household usually lasts for about 2wks are so I check the expiration date for that. Other food that I put into the fridge usually it goes pretty fast so I don't worry about it spoiling or anything..
2 people like this
• United States
20 May 09
The only thing I ever check are the expiration for milk and eggs... Though I probably should look at other things... Though I do have a habit of grabbing from the back of the self because I know that they pull the old to the front and put new stock behind... So things don't go over before they can be sold... I never look at expiration dates on sauces or dressings either... which I should, but I don't... I just smell everything before I cook it...
2 people like this
@cyfernet (2383)
• United States
21 May 09
I think it's extremely important to check for expiry dates as most of the packaged food stuffs have a particular shelf life and after that the nutrition value may come down and also the decaying process may start. It is said, the food stuffs of long expiry dates can be consumed even upto 3 months after expiry but i don't take chances.
1 person likes this
@justinus (1104)
• Karawaci, Indonesia
21 May 09
No, usually I didnt. Perhaps it was because I am male although already 55 years of age I eat and drink almost all, no ristriction. My friend a pfarmacist told that, actually expired product will not too danger to us, only it can not CURE our illness, but anti biotics will danger because it can make us immune means this expired antibiotic make people need the higher dossage or the higher grade of medicine. About food, as long as it smell good as usual I think it is good enough ; fruits will smell not good when it was expired, meat and flash will be the same. Yes I know that there is a kind of ingredients or chemical used to make any food stay longer, such as formalin. I dont care too much because actually I am not too much consume this kind of food and beverage, the most often was soft drink like coke, sprite, while for food I eat not much kind of food, rice and sauce and kecap and some vegetables will enough to me ...above all thanks for your topic so that I can make any post today, I actually runing after my post number, because I posted very litle athough already more than 3 years with myLot ! see you.
1 person likes this
@justinus (1104)
• Karawaci, Indonesia
21 May 09
Hello, agree, agree, agree, we are at common sense, thank you for your interesting topic so that I can start to post. see you again at the other topic. i love you.
@bloglog (628)
• Singapore
21 May 09
Thank you for your point of view, and your contribution of some information here. It is true that expired products may not cause direct harm to the body, but it may at a certain extent. For medicine, it may have lost the effectiveness. For food, it will taste bad and may affect your stomach or health, depending on each individual's level of immune system.
1 person likes this
• India
21 May 09
Hi friend, I usually look for the expiry date when i buy food related items at the shop market like you,if we don't look at it,it may harm our health,because of that i habituated to look at the date.Usually the shop keepers won't keep the expiry items.But by chance if they leave like that that it would be a big problem for us.So it is always good to have a look at the expiry date. have a nice day
1 person likes this
• Singapore
21 May 09
i agree that sometime the shop keepers may be careless
@lynnchua (3412)
• Singapore
21 May 09
I just started to check on the expiry date lately for all kind of food I bought before I make payment to the counter. Because there is once when I was waiting to pay my son found one item in my cart which was expired so I make it a habit to check the expiry date before getting anything.
@bloglog (628)
• Singapore
27 May 09
Wow... it is great that your son helps you in shopping.
@itsme_cha (504)
• United States
21 May 09
yes i often check expiration date on canned foods and process foods, i think its very important that your aware of expiration as you dont want to get food poison. and its always healthy to know what you eat is still good and edible. its for your own good health and your family. happy mylotting!!!
• United States
21 May 09
I am terrible at checking the dates, the only thing that I usually check the dates on is milk but most of the time not because we drink a lot of milk here and it is gone in a day or two after we buy it. I just hope that the store follows the FIFO rule and the stuff the needs to go first is in the front.
1 person likes this
@bloglog (628)
• Singapore
21 May 09
Yes, you are right. I believe most stores do that, the FIFO rule. Since almost everyone knows this rule, some consumers may just grab those items from behind the shelf instead.
• Singapore
21 May 09
i alway check for expiry date , not only can food , shampoo and lotion i also have the habit to check the expire date. if for drinks like fresh milk , i will choose the date that is further from today date even it is not expiry . maybe there are some milk infront that is 2 days before expiry and behind there are some more milk which is maybe 4 days before expiry , i will choose the one behind so that i can left it for longer time . i think nowaday , most of the foods and beverages have expiry date
@harryt123 (327)
• United States
20 May 09
I have made it a habit to check for the expiration date on items before making my purchase. I want to be sure that the eggs I buy or the milk I buy has a later expiration date in order to ensure that I am able to finish it before they go bad. This will not only let me keep the item for longer but will also help save me money.
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
20 May 09
i usually do, especially if the item is on sale. i find that grocery stores try to be sneaky and pass off stuff that has expired and while its a good deal, it depends on what it is if i will buy it. if its dairy, nope, but cereal? sure.
1 person likes this
@kissie34 (2294)
• Philippines
21 May 09
Yes, when I buy canned goods or any foods and beverages I'll always look at the expiration date so that I can make sure that the expiration date is still far and the it is new. Most of the time, when we buy foods we don't usually cooked it immediately it will stay for a few days or even a week. We just reserve it in the cabinet or ref for unexpected guest or if didn't able to go in the market. At least, there are always prepared foods when we don't have money.
1 person likes this
• United States
20 May 09
Yes i do check the date to make sure the stuff is still good before buying it. There are a lot of people who dont and end up getting things that are out of date and they end up sick because of it. But They arent suppost to leave out of date idems on the shelfs but most places just dont care and do it anyways so i always check to see if its still in date.
1 person likes this
@GioBuffon (119)
• Canada
20 May 09
Yes, I usually check for the expiry date on certain items before purchasing them. Many times, I forgot to check it and brought the products home and finally realized when it was too late. Luckily, they gave me the products back with a further expiry date.
1 person likes this
@omiami (412)
• Malta
20 May 09
I have the habit to check always the expiry date. I hate seeing things on shelves which are expired. Its not fair. These things should be controlled. Sometimes maybe the case that old people or young children go to buy something, and they dont check out the expiry dates. Its not fair on them to take things which are expired. We have to teach even the children to do this.
@turones (206)
• Philippines
21 May 09
i used to skip the checking part and i have experienced buying something that's already expired. it's a good thing that i tried the food first before giving it to my kid. i surely learned my lesson and from then on, i make sure to always check the labels for expiration dates.
1 person likes this