Buyer Beware!
People have to know it is Buyer Beware when they shop for food.
I had a very enlightening conversation with the Ag. Dept. agent a while back. it is still bothering me. I had called to complain about Ray's supermarket here in Grants Pass, OR.
Four things the dept of ag said were very disturbing:
Buyer beware! It is up to the consumer to determine if the food in the store is edible. I do not know of the DOA or anyone else informing the consumers about this! I assumed it was the departments duty to make sure food was safe to eat.
Food can be left on the shelves and sold up to FIVE days after their expiration date.
I saw a Reeser pizza that had an expiration date two years from the date i saw it. I never bought one after that. so the food can be sat on a shelf for two years or more and still be sold five days after the expiration date. How much preservatives do they put in food?
The bottom line is the company making a profit is the dept of agriculture's first concern. The dept of ag agent was only concerned with Ray's making a profit. He said so.
The manager of Rays is a very nice guy and the dept of ag agent said he would mention my complaints to him when he saw him on his next inspection.
My complaints from numerous trips to the store:
Three separate occasions the meat I bought was spoiled. I never bought meat there again. Other people have had the same problem. Most people I know do not buy meat there.
The yogurt was three days past its expiration date. This is common.
No one buys any dairy products there, even if the expiration date is a week away. One neighbor bought milk there. It was curdled.
The turkey lunch meat was slimy and smelled bad. The expiration date was a week away.
The bacon smelled bad and felt bad. This expiration date had also not been reached.
A can of baked beans was over a month past its expiration date. I think it was a month. I think it was closer to two months.
