Food with a Flaw

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Calya

Senior Cook
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Messages
266
Location
Canada
Has anyone purchased food only to come home and find something wrong with it?

Lately I have had this happen a few times. I opened a box of Kraft Dinner (I like it once in a while :rolleyes:) and found that the cheese packet inside was open.

Also, the plastic cover under the lid of my 1L yogurt was partially open. Probably opened when I opened the lid, but didn't want to chance it, so I threw it out.
 
Sounds like they may have been tampered with. Worst so far for me was opening a pack of babybacks with the smoker going, only to find out they were bad. Smelled of sulfur.

I would contact the store and return any opened packages. Most stores are pretty good about that.
 
I opened a pack of wings before and they smelled like rotten eggs.

My wife blamed me for the way they tasted.
 
Aside from the moldy, rank and otherwise bad food at the local town grocer..... which is why I only buy emergency items there and never anything perishable if handled improperly, yes. Seems like last week I had a safety seal on something practically fall off after I took the lid off to remove it. I can't remember what it was now other than a food item. It looked undisturbed, so I blamed it on myself and used it.
 
I've bought gnocchi off the shelf , opened the bag and it didn't smell so good but I didn't know if it was suppose to smell like that or not, and after I cooked it , it was awful tasting.
 
my mom and I bought green grapes from the grocery store that were bitter when we bit into them...I mean it was unbearable. I have never tasted a more disgusting grape....we took them back immediately!
 
I bought a bag of shredded cheese once. It looked okay through the bag and the expiration date was about a month away. Got it home and opened it there was a big chunk of moldy cheese in the center. Took it back and got a refund.
 
It happens occasionally - the worst thing I had was a tin of dolmades which were mouldy when I opened the tin. I've also had fruit that has gone off very quickly.
 
Yep, happens to me all the time no matter how careful I am at picking out my groceries. Dented cans, bread bag has a hole in it, mushy spot on veggies that I missed. I hate the ones that have a leak, like milk, by the time you get home, it has leaked all in the bag, the car, counter tops. Or the ones you don't discover right away and they leak all in your fridge!
 
I was shopping the other day and the produce manager asked if I needed any samples (if you ask, they'll cut up anything and give you a bite). I did mention that I'd purchased an avocado the day before that was starting to sour, and I'd had to throw it out. He quickly looked at the avocados I had in my cart and told me to tell the cashier that all of them were his treat. How nice!
 
Just reminded me.

Lately, no matter what store I'm in, I have to really dig to find fresh items. Bagged salads are a tad brown and soggy, those little plastic containers of fresh herbs are horrible, fresh produce only lasts a couple days.
 
My pet peeve currently is Slim Jim products.
They are all dated, and get stale quickly after that date.
But the clerks combine almost empty packages with new ones,
so it isn't unusual to grab an expired one.

This is most common in grocery stores as opposed to convenience stores.
Have found Slim Jims that were 2 years old!!!!!

Not that I eat them anymore, sighhhh.... but my spoiled dogs get one if they
are in the car when I shop, LOL!

Conversely, I have found that when I buy close dated pre-packaged fresh Spinach, it
always lasts at least a week after the date, if I open the package and let it "breathe".
 
My pet peeve currently is Slim Jim products.
They are all dated, and get stale quickly after that date.
But the clerks combine almost empty packages with new ones,
so it isn't unusual to grab an expired one.

This is most common in grocery stores as opposed to convenience stores.
Have found Slim Jims that were 2 years old!!!!!

Not that I eat them anymore, sighhhh.... but my spoiled dogs get one if they
are in the car when I shop, LOL!

Conversely, I have found that when I buy close dated pre-packaged fresh Spinach, it
always lasts at least a week after the date, if I open the package and let it "breathe".

It is ILLEGAL to sell products beyond their sell-by date. not sure who you should contact, but the police might be a good place to start!
 
Anytime you buy an item (Kraft or otherwise) and that item is defective, call the number on the package and COMPLAIN!! Not only is the complaint department there to help you, but they need your input to keep their product perfect. This in turn will usually net you, the consumer a coupon for a free box or more!! Believe it works with all food companies. Experience!!!
 
Oh, I've complained twice to Con Agra foods, and twice to 3 different grocery stores.
Con Agra sent me a coupon once and ignored me the second time.
One grocery store district manager called me, then a store manager called me, and promised
to do better. The other 2 grocery stores didn't respond at all.

The problem didn't improve at any of the stores.

I really thought Con Agra, which was heavily promoting Slim Jims at the time
SNAP INTO A SLIM JIM!), would have been more interested and reactive.....
 
i call their manufactuerer. most companies will replace a product with a coupon.
 
Recently I needed chicken broth and couldn't afford the brand I usually buy. I bought a couple cans of Sweet Sue brand at WalMart. I didn't find out until I had already started cooking the onion and celery and got the bread cubes ready for dressing that one of the cans had only been filled half-way (and what was there smelled bad), so I had to dump it. I had planned on having dressing, mashed potatoes, and gravy with left-over turkey in it, but I ended up only having enough chicken broth for the dressing. I emailed the company to let them know about the problem. Today I received 4 coupons for any Sweet Sue product free and 2 coupons for 25 cents off Bumble Bee Tuna.

One thing I learned a long time ago (both by taking a business writing class in college and just from experience) is that a polite letter usually goes a lot further than one that just berates them (I know a few people who do that). I also try occasionally to let companies know when I think they are doing a great job, not just when there is a problem.

Sometimes, like when I wrote to Heinz to let them know the cap on their big new refrigerator door bottle is difficult to open, companies will send coupons for their products. And other times, like when I wrote to Nabisco to say that we did not like the way the Oreo packages are designed now (harder to get the side cookies), they just say sorry, that's just the way it is (well, they were polite about it, but that was the gist of it!).

I try not to write with the intent of getting something free (unless I was out money), but rather to let them know my feelings about a product. But if they do send coupons for free items, I let everyone know, which is good for the company.

:)Barbara
 
Once I bought some pepperoni from Costco so it was a double pack. I had one in our main fridge and we went through it in about 4 days. The expiration date was about 6 months away, but when I went to get the other half out of our spare fridge it was totally growing mold! There were no holes in the package and no moisture in it. Turned me off pepperoni for quite awhile.
 
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