Hi, I’m writing to the TLS audience to see if others have such a problem, and to hopefully bring awareness to the stores to be more careful.
My issue is, that in the past two weeks, I purchased two different products from two different stores and they were both moldy, 100% mold.
In the past, I’ve purchased lettuce and it’s been completely brown and I chose to just throw it out and swallow the $5.50+ which I paid for it because what am I going to do, bring back to the store? Sounded too cheap and ridiculous to me.
But last week I purchased a container of a dip for Friday night meal, on Thursday evening after 10pm. Friday evening when my wife opened the container, a quarter of it was blue with mold, we purchased it less then 24 hours prior and it was in the fridge since!
This week Friday, we purchased a package of fresh muffins from a store, and shabbos morning one of the cupcakes was completely moldy!
I obviously threw it out and cannot bring it back to the store, but what do I do now? Mind you, the muffins were in the $9.00 range, and the dip over $5.00!
Are stores getting away with this? Is this a common issue?
M. T.
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How long was the food in your trunk in the 90+ degree weather last week?
Try having an ice box in your car to put refrigerated food in when it’s very hot. If you do a few errands and leave the food in your car it could get spoiled very quickly!
THIS !!!!!
Either swallow your loss or your pride. How can stores be aware of this issue if you don’t go back? I once had a container of fresh moldy marble cake and when i went back to the store they said that they realized that they put it in containers when it’s hot and they need to work on the temp control and were so happy i came back cuz they wanna refund all the ppl that had the issue .
I’ve had the same problem a few time and like you it was too much of a hassle to go back so i just lost my money.
Unfortunately stores will ignore the problem if we keep on not bringing back the items!!
Don’t hesitate to call and notify the store. It’s sometimes the only way the problem can be brought to their attention. Stores do not want to sell inedible products and nor do they want to cause a loss to customers. In both cases, a refund would be issued right away.
Bring it back, don’t be embarrassed. It’s not about the $5.50; The stores need to know and ur helping the rabbim.
Ive called both the store and the company on several occasions because its not just abt money but abt time too.
And if it continues I would not only shop elsewhere and buy dif brands, at a certain point i would possibly publicize it (halacha permitting) so that others know that its an ongoing issue and not to waste their time or money.
Shaila needed for tht tho.
Ive just been fine with calling the places and letting them know and mot continuing to buy the brands i have had issues with.
I had a similar experience, but the food was kept cold because it was put in an ice chest with frozen canned dry ice. It got to the country abt 4 hours later, still cold, went into the fridge in abt 5 min. A day and a half later, at Shabbos lunch, it was served, still cold . The potato salad (at 4.99/lb) was rotten. Considering that it costs abt 1.00/lb to make, we were really being Mchashev Shabbos, we were very disappointed. When we notified the store the following week, they claimed we did not handle it well. I challenged the salesman to eat some from his display case. He refused. We did not buy any more for a long time. Another time, I went shopping with my son, and he bought some food in the kosher takeout dept of a large supermarket. It was put in their microwave, and he brought it out to the car to eat. As soon as he opened the container, the stench in the car was overwhelming. We went right back to complain. We had to wait 20 minutes for the manager to get a refund. Meanwhile I felt the outside of the refrigerated case, and it was HOT, When we got back to the car, I called my Poseik to ask it it would be mesirah to report the matter to the health dept. His answer was it was a Mitzvah, because it involved Pikuach Nefesh! When I got home, I called the Health dept. They promised to follow up immediately. It was Jan 1. Almost 3 months later, I got a letter that they sent a letter out 3 weeks after the complaint, and the merchant claimed nothing was wrong. End of investigation? No. Unfortunately, there was a hidden owner involved who knew me. Apparently, the Health dept told them my name. They would not admit anything, but “coincidentally” the takeout was closed. The bottom line, we lost!
Check expiration dates carefully. If a package is not marked, don’t buy it. Even the best stores occasionally let expired products remain on their shelves.
I always return. Never had a problem.
Most people will tell you that it happens all too often. It happened to me just this Wednesday with a packaged cake with a good sell by date – btw always pays to check the sell by date although its still no guarantee as my experience taught me. I went over to store manager and he jokingly asked me where the missing piece was (it was only after eating a piece did I realize it had mold)and he gave me a refund. To your point, all stores will accommodate and I don’t think it’s a question of pride at all.
Another related and very common issue is when stores will have an item on sale and it os already a bit off. Example: Orange Juice that tastes like it is going bad or crackers that are a bit stale or rancid. It is really cheating the public and almost outright theft.Just because it did not pass the expiratuon date does not mean that the store did not know that it was already not fit for sale
This happens very often and we don’t hesitate to being it back to the stores. The more customers raise the awareness, the more careful they will be in the future. (And yes, we bring our perishables straight home in a hot/ cold bag.)
If you already threw out the item you can still try to get a refund- especially if you still have the receipt.
I’ve had the same issue in the winter. I bought 6 packages of cheese and when I got home I went to open one and saw it was green. I looked at the other packages and saw that 4 were moldy. I looked through the clear back. I brought it back to the store and they gave me a refund. I then went to the display of cheese and brought the customer service guy about another 10 packages that were moldy. The guy couldn’t believe it. I said the refrigerator must not be working. I also had issues with other things. Stores unfortunately don’t unpack perishables quick enough. GO BACK. Otherwise stores will never learn. Also they want to know. For the most part.
I’ve definitely noticed some stores are better than others with temp control and quality control (changing inventory before they get old etc.) Some stores have thermostats in the fridge. Next time you see it check it out. If the fridge is over 40 degrees, then the store saving may be trying to save money on electric, but willing to risk selling unhealthy and spoiled perishables,
Same with yogurt foil cover, whenever took delivery one always pops (one to the trash) plus gotta go clean the rest of delivery. I stopped ordering. But here it’s the yogurt company getting a cheaper foil cover (while possibly not even being aware of it). I proppbably should call company but B”H better things to be busy with .
I usually stop buying in stores that have repeat problems, whenever possible. Let them know that if they are doing a poor job in food control, it will cost them customers.
I shop by one of the large supermarkets in Lakewood for years. Once in a while I have had an issue with something that was spoiled. I just take a picture and show them the product and bar code the next time i remember when I’m there. They always give a refund. It would be nice if all stores would be able to be so accommodating.
Brink it back
Happens to me all the time
And when I get grossed out I dont buy that item EVER in that store again
Hope retailers are reading this
If you want our business, make sure an items fresh
Kosher food is way to expensive to sell us old food
they are not removing old stock, the people delivering (to store or your homne) are leaving in hot place or its sitting outside of fridge for awhile until the dips are placed into a fridge,
note wife purchased on thursday night 5/03 with a milk date of 5/05- officially it was not expired but it sure was not fair for the store to sell an item so close to expiration dates. Fact no matter the store, check the expiration date. some stores (or suppliers) will keep old stuff on shelf. always take the product in the back of the row,,, longer expiration dates,
All the time. You can call not to ask for a credit, just to notify them. I’ve called and told them to check the item b/c mine was spoiled & you probably don’t want to continue selling it. (E g spoiled cappuccino)
It’s really simple, if you don’t complain they will never know. If the merchant doesn’t care or share your concerns you have the ability to shop in another store. In my 60+ years of shopping I’ve only found one item that was off or bad and that was some packaged sliced moldy cheddar cheese. When the store didn’t share my concern, I stopped shopping there.
B”H the stores that I shop in don’t make a fuss about returning spoiled items and it usually doesn’t happen. Most things like dips still are fresh beyond the expiration date because they have preservatives in them. Check cheese packages before you buy them for signs of mold. In hot weather always take insulated shopping bags and ice packs for perishables and put them straight in the fridge when you get home.
I guess I’m the only one who brings things back. Like slimy lettuce or moldy butter or cottage cheese. I can’t afford not to. The last time I returned butter to npgs I told the manager we opened it and the whole inside was Moldy, he said yeh it happens very often with that company. My question is y does he still sell that Brand if he knows that it’s not good? From the responses here it seems like no one bothers to go return things that aren’t up to par but by not going back the store doesn’t have a way to know what companies to stop dealing with…
In my experience there is a store name which I will not mention that is a repeat offender with this.
Please tell us the store, if enough of us stop shopping there then they will change their ways before someone gets seriously ill
I would love to however I’m not sure if there is a religious restriction on that, if you can ask a local Rav that you can quote, I can verify and post
This happenes to me frequent enough.
However, there are people that ruined the return policy for many stores in town.
Not that easy to return in town.
Anyone agrees?
The stores expect you to bring it back. According to halacha they may be required to come you. I say don’t shop there any more.
Store being unaware doesn’t mean they are “ignoring” it. Ignore is to be aware and not pay attention despite that.
In any retail store there are damaged items on the shelf that you or anyone else, even the store management may not be aware of without the product being opened. Not everyone is a tzaddik but because you got something damaged doesn’t mean they were trying to dupe you.
In many instances they are duping you.
They know good and well they could be checking dates and removing old stock – specifically items that don’t have a quick turn around.
Recently I came home with a box of square matzas that I was relying on for lechem mishne, but found 2 sheleimim in the entire box.
I would not try and return such an item, however when I was shopping again I noticed a sign stating that “we are not responsible for broken matzas….”
That sign was obviously put up due to some people letting them know that a bunch of matzas boxes were broken.. (maybe cartons fell during handling).
Such a sign is deceiving, if they know of the problem, either replace the goods or specifically write “it has come to our attention that some of matzas are broken and we will not accept returns…
Don’t be embarrassed to bring it back. This happens and every store I have ever returned moldy or spoiled items have been very nice about prompt refunds. Even the one time I brought back one closed item along with a receipt that showed the other packages of the same item which a family member had discarded. They paid me back for all of it without a fuss.
I’ve returned moldy cheese and spoiled milk many times. This happens to almost everyone around here, regardless of expiration dates. Not sure if it’s the store’s fault or if the food is delivered that way (although from the fact that certain brands seem to be consistently spoiled it would seem it’s the manufacturers who aren’t storing it properly.)
I have called stores, who tell me to bring it back. I told them “no, you have my money shelo kedin, you should bring it to me. Why is your time more valuable than mine?”
They didn’t see the logic and lo sigzol is seemingly not all that important to them.
It’s happened often enough that I too find it annoying. If I email a grocery order I hate when they send me products they are trying to get rid of and I would never choose myself. I’ve received old bread, rotten clementines, soggy bags of salad… I do have to say that at a certain store I go to many, many times I came home with moldy cheese, spoiled butter and moldy packages of deli. Very, very frustrating..
There is a big store in the country which I heard was abused with returns because heir policy was so generous- people would use an air conditioner for 7-8 weeks, and return it for a refund. We never abused it, but one summer we decided to leave one child’s bike in the city, and buy a new one upstate. After abt 2 weeks, it needed major repairs. I tried to have the store repair it, since it was still in warranty. I clearly indicated I was not looking for a refund, but the manager only offered the name of a repair service in Monticello, which would have cost almost as much as the original price. It was the last time we made a big purchase in that store. The foreign junk they sold was no match for the name brand American items which have been in family for decades
The stores are good about returning it, still
They really should go around and be super careful that everything is fresh.
I know that we are spoiled Americans, however, we are in 2018 where everything is so expensive, the least it should be fresh.
Stores do not realize that all it takes is one spoiled item and the customer shops elsewhere. Its so not worth it , in the long run
You should DEFINITELY be in touch with the manufacturer or distributor as noted on the package in any way that works for you!!!! Be prepared to give all the information you possibly can about the item, the exact name of the item, the size of the item, the UPC code of the item, the lot number expiration date of the item etc. They need to know everything so that they could track it.
Yes, many times it is the fault of the supermarket however, the manufacturer/distributor come and needs to know that it so that they can handle it on their end. When a product is sold that is bad, it reflects very poorly on the manufacturer /distributor.
It’s not whether it’s a cheap item or not, they need to know about this for their own quality control purposes. This is very important and you are the only one that can give proper feedback.
Now go do the right thing.
btw most fridge items are not he responsibility of the store rather the salesman of the manufacturer as a former salesman I can tell you it was never the store responsible for my product that was on the shelf. every week when I came I had to go through all items and check the dates so this blaming the store is just wrong blame the company . (no I do not work in the food industry anymore)
Sorry that may have been your job as a salesman, however a consumer is purchasing product from the store, not the distributor/salesman and we deal with the store not the producer.
Your argument won’t stand in court or bais din.
Computerized inventory management systems for grocery stores has been around since the 70’s. Merchandisers use the data to pull out of date product when they visit a store. My local stores also use it to manage out of date items that are not part of a merchandiser plan. It seems to me that the stores that many posters use don’t even bother with purging stock that is out of date. It’s also a way of staging inventory and ensuring that excess product isn’t delivered to a store that is not moving the items. Storage upon delivery is also an issue. I don’t shop at any national chains but the local chains I use have cold and room temp storage areas. The person in charge of receiving merchandise at the dock is responsible for getting cold storage items in the right place. When you look at the problems that are voiced here, it’s apparent that the issue is the retailers responsibility and the retailers just don’t care.
1) a store with higher turnover usually has fresher food, so stick to busy stores if freshness is an issue.
2) A store with less employees & a simpler design can charge less per item than an upscale supermarket. Yes, you might come across an expired item on a shelf but the overall lower pricing makes up for it. This is the tradeoff with shopping in a more economical grocery.
3) There’s no such thing as a sale, there are shortdated products the store gets as a closeout & passes it on as a sale. Don’t be surprised that your sale item isn’t too fresh.
4) Stores usually take back spoiled food without a problem.
Check the dates & you’ll avoid 99% of the problem.
this is a really big issue. i send my daughter or my husband shopping and they don’t look at dates on the items! the store should not have expired food out on the shelves!! i try to return but my daughter does not like to do returns and i never go, so it ends up sitting and then to the garbage. it really is gezel. it comes up so often unfortunately. i try to freeze the spoiled items so i can return but doesn’t always work out.
soooooooo frustrating!