I once worked in the deli/bakery area of a small, family-owned
grocery store. The owner tried to enforce a policy that required us
to make use of items that couldn’t be sold. We had overripe fruits
and vegetables, a case of shelled walnuts that had been stored near
laundry detergent, making the nuts soapy tasting, a pack of franks
with TEETH MARKS in it, unlabeled cans, all kinds of stuff that had
passed expiration date. We were expected to “do something” with all
of this stuff, and heaven help the employee who got caught throwing
anything away. Once, we had several unlabeled cans that turned out to
be SpaghettiO’s. We had to put them in a container in the deli case and
try to sell them like that. The store eventually went out of business
for some reason. Go figure.
The man was just trying to make money instead of throwing profits away. You can’t blame him, can you?
I wish there was someone in authority to contact when something like expired or rotten food is pushed to be sold. Wait! I’ll bet the health department could help with something like that.
When I read these horror stories about food establishments (restaurants, stores, etc.) it sickens me that this type of behavior is deemed as reasonable by any person whether they be a worker, a boss or the owner.
Even though an expiration date may have passed, it doesn’t mean that the food has spoiled but if you can’t sell it before that date, the store needs to chock it up as a loss and get rid of it.
Selling questionable or expired food must cease and desist!
I’d put the teeth-marked franks on display and with a sign that says, “Elvis’s teeth-marks – Limited Edition”.
I used to love SpaghettiO’s as a kid… they were so good!
Gross! This is why I hate working in food service!
Should have made a bin for the unlabelled cans and called them “Mystery Cans.” I bet people would have bought them.