# What happens to "out of date" goods at grocery stores? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 22, 2015, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-out-of-date-goods-at-grocery-stores/725829 "2015-07-22T00:16:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-out-of-date-goods-at-grocery-stores/725829/21 "2015-07-22T16:17:18Z")
> [@Cardboard](#): > > I’m talking about cans, boxed goods and other non-perishables that go past their “best by” or “out of date” date. I know they get taken off the shelves, but what happens after that? Do they just go to a dump? Do they go to churches and food banks? I’d hate to think otherwise good food just gets tossed away into the trash. At our chain, out-of-date canned and boxed goods, along with out-of-date breads and some deli products that are frozen on the date they expire, are donated to a food bank that comes by with a refrigerated truck each week to pick them up. Breads and cakes that are baked at the store, (as opposed to packaged breads brought in by vendors), are not necessarily frozen, but are picked up by a smaller food bank, daily. Packages that are damaged are sent to a landfill to avoid risking contamination and poisoning the recipients. (We had been sending all damaged perishables to a recycling center, but the outfit handling the process was locked in a dispute with the EPA, (over what I have never heard), so the only stuff being recycled, now, is produce. If the EPA issue is resolved, management would prefer sending damaged perishables to recycling.) ---
**Author:** ![sbunny8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@sbunny8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbunny8)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-out-of-date-goods-at-grocery-stores/725829/22 "2015-07-22T16:41:54Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > Our Price Chopper and Hannaford donate out of date non-perishables to our local community action agency. They use them to pack up emergency food boxes for those less fortunate. The perishable (fruits and veggies) items are set up on tables for people to take as needed. Day old bread, bagels and rolls are also set out on tables. They also have a huge refrigerator filled with pies and cakes, and other goodies that are just a few days past their “best by” date. You just sign a clipboard and take whatever you want. Around here there is no reason for anyone to go hungry, unless they’re too proud to accept charity. Oh, I can think of LOTS of reasons other than pride. Just off the top of my head, how about someone who is a delusional paranoid who won’t take the food because they’re convinced it was poisoned by M.I.6, or how about someone who was (perhaps wrongly) accused of a crime and is afraid to show their face in public for fear of being arrested, or how about someone who was banned from the food bank because last week they got into a fight with one of the other homeless people, or how about a homeless woman who is afraid to go near the shelter because last week she was assaulted in the alley, or how about an immigrant whose identification was stolen and someone told them that if they ask for help they’ll get deported. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-out-of-date-goods-at-grocery-stores/725829/23 "2015-07-22T17:10:26Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > We used to buy outdated bread products and feed it to the pigs. I don’t think “processing” is the term I’d use; we’d stand on the back of a pick-up truck next to the fence with a load of old bread and a garbage can. We’d tear off the wrappers and throw the food over the fence and throw the wrappers in the can. > > The pigs, incidentally, loved it. They liked bread in general but they loved sweets. So when we throw things in like twinkies they’d go chasing around the pen for them. That’s because bread doesn’t have to be “cooked” before you feed it to the animals, if you’re a commercial farmer. Some farmers pick up food waste from restaurants, too. The restaurants are usually happy to do this, because otherwise they would have to pay someone to do that. This is also how some people get oil for biodiesel, too. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-out-of-date-goods-at-grocery-stores/725829/24 "2015-07-22T17:13:54Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > There is a great deal of pressure on supermarkets here to stop dumping expired food and to donate it to organisations that can make use of it. The number of sandwiches thrown out is amazing. I also saw a TV programme recently where I was astonished at the amount of chicken a KFC outlet throws out. They were experimenting with freezing some of it and passing it on to a homeless shelter. When I worked in restaurants, we all wished we could have simply taken that food home ourselves. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-out-of-date-goods-at-grocery-stores/725829/25 "2015-07-22T17:30:39Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > When I worked in restaurants, we all wished we could have simply taken that food home ourselves. The management wouldn’t let you? My sister worked in a place where the average dinner started at $200 USD, the underage bussboy claimed all the unconsumed wine/beer and a woman named Blanca was famous for eating even half eaten food left on plates, even with lipstick stains.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-out-of-date-goods-at-grocery-stores/725829/26 "2015-07-22T18:11:48Z")
> [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](#): > > Some stores will mark down not-so-fresh meat a great amount. Things like steaks and chops in my shopping experience are still good, but I’ve had some nasty surprises from ground beef. Our store does that also. If you use it or freeze it right away it is still good. Some of the meat looks better than others, though. There used to be a dying shopping center a block from my house which got torn down for houses. There was a small dying grocery there. We went in one day - their canned goods were not just a little expired, but six months expired. I’m in a reasonably upscale neighborhood, so no one bought them - or much of anything, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-out-of-date-goods-at-grocery-stores/725829/27 "2015-07-23T01:02:20Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > That’s because bread doesn’t have to be “cooked” before you feed it to the animals, if you’re a commercial farmer. In the case of the pig farmer with the used dairy products, I believe he had to mix it in with dry food. And there was also an issue where too much dairy in the pigs’ diet would give them digestive problems. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-out-of-date-goods-at-grocery-stores/725829/28 "2015-07-23T03:55:26Z")
> [@Cardboard](#): > > I’m talking about cans, boxed goods and other non-perishables that go past their “best by” or “out of date” date. I know they get taken off the shelves, but what happens after that? They go to the local dollar saver store. We had pork chops tonight with Bush’s Baked Beans. In our regular store the price of the can is about two bucks. We bought the same can, abet with a minor dent in it and about a month past the stamped date, for fifty cents. As long as the can’s integrity is not compromised there is no difference. We regularly buy non-perishable foodstuffs that way. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-out-of-date-goods-at-grocery-stores/725829/29 "2015-07-23T04:46:11Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > When I worked in restaurants, we all wished we could have simply taken that food home ourselves. Reminds me of back many years ago when my brother was dating a girl whose family ran a bakery. At the end of each day, the employees (most of whom were family members) could take home anything that hadn’t sold to make way for tomorrow’s fresh goods. I remember my brother bringing home boxes of baked goods - amazing stuff. We all encouraged him to marry the girl but no dice. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-out-of-date-goods-at-grocery-stores/725829/30 "2015-07-23T15:03:36Z")
Sometimes out-of-date items get sent to Europe. Something stamped with an expiration date of “030915,” for instance, could be taken off the shelf in the US in March and sold in Europe until September. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-out-of-date-goods-at-grocery-stores/725829/31 "2015-07-23T17:47:51Z")
My Dad worked in a canning factory and told us that canned good really have no expy date. If the can is not rusty or swollen (even a little) the contents are OK. Mind you, they may not taste as good, but they are safe. My suggestion to those who find out of date canned goods in the pantry is to store them in a cool dark place and use for earthquake rations. Just a few years ago, Trader Joes use to donate their 'day old" baked goods to a local church. This was very nice of them. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-out-of-date-goods-at-grocery-stores/725829/32 "2015-07-24T00:27:48Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > They go to the local dollar saver store. We had pork chops tonight with Bush’s Baked Beans. In our regular store the price of the can is about two bucks. **We bought the same can, abet with a minor dent in it and about a month past the stamped date, for fifty cents. As long as the can’s integrity is not compromised there is no difference.** We regularly buy non-perishable foodstuffs that way. I would do this, but if a can is dented, how can one be sure the integrity is not compromised? It isn’t always easy to tell if the ends have that “sucked in” look. And if the integrity is compromised (which I assume means there is an air leak), then it won’t get swollen even if the food inside rots. I’ve read that botulism, being anaerobic, only occurs in cans _without_ leaks, and can only get into a can during the canning process if the food is not cooked to total sterility there. AND further that botulism contamination doesn’t affect the taste, so you can’t tell that way. But does botulism cause the can to get swollen? OTOH, if there is an air leak, the insides could have any other kind of awful contamination, and it might be very obvious, but it isn’t botulism. Is any of this correct? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-out-of-date-goods-at-grocery-stores/725829/33 "2015-07-24T02:12:05Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I But does botulism cause the can to get swollen? OTOH, if there is an air leak, the insides could have any other kind of awful contamination, and it might be very obvious, but it isn’t botulism. Is any of this correct? Yes. [http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/botulism/consumers.html](http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/botulism/consumers.html) _Never taste the product to determine if it is safe. Do not taste or eat foods from containers that are leaking, have bulges or are swollen, look damaged or cracked, or seem abnormal in appearance…he container is leaking, bulging or swollen, looks damaged or cracked or seems abnormal in appearance The container spurts liquid or foam when opened_ It’s not 100% safe, but it’s pretty close. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-out-of-date-goods-at-grocery-stores/725829/34 "2015-07-24T03:41:09Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > My suggestion to those who find out of date canned goods in the pantry is to store them in a cool dark place and use for earthquake rations. Or just eat them. My earlier statement about taking restaurant food home was more along the lines of uneaten pie slices, untouched buffet containers, etc. No way would I eat or drink anything off someone’s plate! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-out-of-date-goods-at-grocery-stores/725829/35 "2015-07-24T22:54:23Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Or just eat them. > > My earlier statement about taking restaurant food home was more along the lines of uneaten pie slices, untouched buffet containers, etc. No way would I eat or drink anything off someone’s plate! :rolleyes: I know, and of course eating half eaten food off plates was the domain of one waitress who was famous among the staff. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-out-of-date-goods-at-grocery-stores/725829/36 "2015-07-24T22:57:50Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I know, and of course eating half eaten food off plates was the domain of one waitress who was famous among the staff. I’d have to be\* really\* hungry, but I have snagged a few things that appeared untouched. Not proud of it, but I was pretty poor then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-out-of-date-goods-at-grocery-stores/725829.md?page=1)