verified email -
05 Mar 2014
I was on my way to visit a family member who lives within walking distance of this supermarket. She mentioned that she was out of milk, and would I mind picking up some as I passed through the Sunbury town centre? No problem, I said - and promptly forgot. I was almost at her house when I remembered the milk, so I stopped at this supermarket, grabbed some low-fat milk (from memory, I think it was Pura Lite Start), took it to her house, and thought no more of it.
The next day she phoned me. "You bought that milk at the Melba Ave supermarket, didn't you?"
"Well, yes, I did - but how did you know?"
"Because the use-by date expires today. I'll have to throw out what I don't use today. And this is not the first time it has happened. I refuse to buy milk from that supermarket any more, even though it's close by. I buy it from one of the supermarkets in the centre of Sunbury. Their turnover seems to be better, because their use-by dates are always about a week away."
Now, technically the store has done nothing illegal. It is perfectly legal to sell perishable food right up to the use-by date. But I think not warning customers is not playing fair with them. When you buy milk, you expect it to be good for several days at least, especially if you're buying several cartons at a time. If an item of food is getting perilously close to its use-by date, you'd expect some warning, if not a discount.
A supermarket near my home checks all its dairy products, smallgoods, etc. each morning, and puts discount labels on anything getting too close to its expiry date. That way everyone is happy. The store is able to sell its almost-expired stock while maintaining customer goodwill; shoppers who need food to last a while will take fresher products from the back; and canny shoppers who are able to consume the food in a hurry get a bargain.
But if a store is deliberately and quietly selling almost-expired food, I think that's unfair, and if they're doing it inadvertently, then that suggests sloppy stock control. Neither speaks well of the store. It's not illegal, but nor is it the way to stay in the good books of your customers.
So. You have been warned. If you buy milk from here, check the date on it. I have no comment to make about what else they sell, because this is the only thing I've ever purchased, but based on this experience, and what my relative told me, I won't be in a hurry to return.
