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Maybe grocery stores should be forced to better their inventory control. My “fancy” neighborhood grocery store (upgraded from Vons to Pavilions supposedly as a

Maybe grocery stores should be forced to better their inventory control. My “fancy” neighborhood grocery store (upgraded from Vons to Pavilions supposedly as a mark of affluence) I have to check every item because sometimes premade foods like Mac and cheese and those “Kevin” chicken packs are 1-2 months past the best by date. I think food should have a “made on date” in addition. I know on some items you can tell by the code, but for a lot of premade items like flatbreads, etc in the deli they just have a label of when they should be removed from the shelf. Grocery prices are already high. If I buy a premade Mac and cheese and it is 1 month expired, how old is it really? 6 months? A year? Sometimes I pick up one pack that is about to pass the best by date and the best by date of the one next to it is 6 months from now. That means the one that is about to pass is at least 6 months old. How is it right that I have to pay full price for cooked items that are a year old? Modern grocery stores are nasty since they started extending best by dates longer and longer and replaced most fresh deli items with factory made package food that you have no idea when it is made.

balderdash 2y ago
Totally agree on the packing date. Why not just have three dates: “Packaged”, “Best by”, and “Expiration” I feel like that would be extremely clear for people
homebrewer 2y ago
The proper solution is to put a sticker with the new "use by" date on top of the old one when it expires, like they do in my country. Keeps food waste and prices to a minimum. Of course, you will end up in a hospital now and again, but the last time that happened to me was ten years ago, which is a worthwhile tradeoff to keep grocery store owners happy and the government service (which is supposed to supervise all this) well greased.
mytailorisrich 2y ago
>Maybe grocery stores should be forced to better their inventory control. Throwing away stuff is a loss for stores. They don't want to and make a lot of efforts not to. The thing is that it is extremely difficult to impossible, especially when consumers demand full shelves all the time. On the other hand, expired items on shelves is just a shoddy practice.
- iterateoften 2y ago
  > especially when consumers demand full shelves That’s the issue. The quality of our food is nose diving for appearances. Make regulations that benefit the health of the consumer instead of how many boxes of the same product a corporation can leave sitting on a shelf. If grocery stores have to change and adapt, so be it.
  - mytailorisrich 2y ago
    It's not about appearances, it's about supply. When we go to a store or supermarket we want them to have everything we want to buy, whatever the quantity we want to buy, and when they are out of stock we are very unhappy and that hits their reputation as well.
- Suppafly 2y ago
  > especially when consumers demand full shelves all the time I feel like stores gave up on that post-covid supply chain issues and have never went back to being full. Due to how many options grocery stores carry, they usually have some version of what you want, but they are often sold out of specific brands/sizes still.
s1artibartfast 2y ago
You complain that prices are high, then propose that groceries have inventory restrictions to drive prices up further.
- iterateoften 2y ago
  Grocery stores overbuy product to have full shelves not to get the best deal for their customer.
  - s1artibartfast 2y ago
    Who said anything about best deal? Either way, throwing out or returning more inventory to make you happy won't help your prices.
    - iterateoften 2y ago
      Your implying the only way to keep prices down is to continue to overbuy and leave it sit on shelves. I’m not asking them to throw out more inventory. I’m asking them to buy less to begin with. Go work in a grocery store for a few months and see how much junk gets thrown away now. I’m also not asking for lower prices. I’m 100% fine paying the same prices if the quality is there. That’s why now I drive much further out of my way to go to stores that have fresher inventory at the same price. Unfortunately not everyone has that privilege. The current system of keeping shelves full and throwing away massive amounts of food anyways, while charging the same price as when it’s new is the worst of both worlds. Your attempting to create a dichotomy in which grocery stores can’t have less inventory and keep prices the same.
      - s1artibartfast 2y ago
        Do you prefer going to the store to buy something and have the shelves empty? Do you genuinely think they keep a bunch of inventory on the shelf just for fun so they can lose money? I agree that I'm making a dichotomy, but I don't think it is a false dichotomy.

balderdash 2y ago

Totally agree on the packing date. Why not just have three dates: “Packaged”, “Best by”, and “Expiration” I feel like that would be extremely clear for people

homebrewer 2y ago

The proper solution is to put a sticker with the new "use by" date on top of the old one when it expires, like they do in my country. Keeps food waste and prices to a minimum. Of course, you will end up in a hospital now and again, but the last time that happened to me was ten years ago, which is a worthwhile tradeoff to keep grocery store owners happy and the government service (which is supposed to supervise all this) well greased.

mytailorisrich 2y ago

>Maybe grocery stores should be forced to better their inventory control. Throwing away stuff is a loss for stores. They don't want to and make a lot of efforts not to. The thing is that it is extremely difficult to impossible, especially when consumers demand full shelves all the time. On the other hand, expired items on shelves is just a shoddy practice.

iterateoften 2y ago
> especially when consumers demand full shelves That’s the issue. The quality of our food is nose diving for appearances. Make regulations that benefit the health of the consumer instead of how many boxes of the same product a corporation can leave sitting on a shelf. If grocery stores have to change and adapt, so be it.
- mytailorisrich 2y ago
  It's not about appearances, it's about supply. When we go to a store or supermarket we want them to have everything we want to buy, whatever the quantity we want to buy, and when they are out of stock we are very unhappy and that hits their reputation as well.
Suppafly 2y ago
> especially when consumers demand full shelves all the time I feel like stores gave up on that post-covid supply chain issues and have never went back to being full. Due to how many options grocery stores carry, they usually have some version of what you want, but they are often sold out of specific brands/sizes still.

s1artibartfast 2y ago

You complain that prices are high, then propose that groceries have inventory restrictions to drive prices up further.

iterateoften 2y ago
Grocery stores overbuy product to have full shelves not to get the best deal for their customer.
- s1artibartfast 2y ago
  Who said anything about best deal? Either way, throwing out or returning more inventory to make you happy won't help your prices.
  - iterateoften 2y ago
    Your implying the only way to keep prices down is to continue to overbuy and leave it sit on shelves. I’m not asking them to throw out more inventory. I’m asking them to buy less to begin with. Go work in a grocery store for a few months and see how much junk gets thrown away now. I’m also not asking for lower prices. I’m 100% fine paying the same prices if the quality is there. That’s why now I drive much further out of my way to go to stores that have fresher inventory at the same price. Unfortunately not everyone has that privilege. The current system of keeping shelves full and throwing away massive amounts of food anyways, while charging the same price as when it’s new is the worst of both worlds. Your attempting to create a dichotomy in which grocery stores can’t have less inventory and keep prices the same.
    - s1artibartfast 2y ago
      Do you prefer going to the store to buy something and have the shelves empty? Do you genuinely think they keep a bunch of inventory on the shelf just for fun so they can lose money? I agree that I'm making a dichotomy, but I don't think it is a false dichotomy.