Topic: Ridiculous Supermarket Policies

[betula]

I read that M&S  used to give sell by date food to a charity and this was stopped as it was thought by some not to be good practise.

I f the food was to be eaten on the sell by date I can not see the harm in this.

I do it all the time and sometimes a bit over.

[Baccy Man]

There are some foodbanks in the UK but they sre not exactly widely advertised.
http://www.trusselltrust.org/content/foodbank/links.htm
http://www.mkfoodbank.org.uk/
http://www.cambridgefoodbank.co.uk/
http://www.cefoxford.co.uk/

[cornykev]

I always thought that the loose pots were cheaper so I always sorted my own, until last week when I was told by the OH that the pre-bagged were cheaper so she purchased these instead.  ???        ;D ;D ;D

[Pesky Wabbit]

I always thought buying in bags was cheaper as generally if  buying in larger quantity, veg or anything else, it should be cheaper.

Its also a method of mixing lesser quality ie grade AAA, with top quality AAAA and selling it, otherwise the lesser grade would never get sold and just rot on the shelf.

[telboy]

Bagged or loose?

Which would you prefer:

Loose - where umpteen folk with bacteria ridden hands have poked/prodded/squeezed.
Bagged - where some immigrant whose just wiped his ar*e has packed it.

Well???????? :P >:(

[Baccy Man]

Well I usually buy in bulk I don't really know how prices compare to supermarkets as I don't often shop in them but the prices I pay seem reasonable enough. I buy locally produced foods where possible, packaging for fruit & veg is usually in the form of paper or net sacks which I can reuse for my own produce or cardboard boxes which can be recycled or composted.
Below are average prices I pay for a few of the basics.
Potatoes 12.5kg sack £1.75 or 25kg sack £3.25
Onions red or white 12.5kg net £2 or 20kg net £2.50
Carrots/swedes/turnips/parsnips 20kg net £1.75
Mushrooms 5kg box £2
Lamb £1.80 per kg if buying a whole lamb £2 per kg for a half lamb.
Bread flour 25kg sack £6.50

[cambourne7]

There are some foodbanks in the UK but they sre not exactly widely advertised.
http://www.trusselltrust.org/content/foodbank/links.htm
http://www.mkfoodbank.org.uk/
http://www.cambridgefoodbank.co.uk/
http://www.cefoxford.co.uk/

Thanks hon i will give my local place a call and see if they need any volunteers next week i should be able to go out next week :)

[thifasmom]

Well I usually buy in bulk I don't really know how prices compare to supermarkets as I don't often shop in them but the prices I pay seem reasonable enough. I buy locally produced foods where possible, packaging for fruit & veg is usually in the form of paper or net sacks which I can reuse for my own produce or cardboard boxes which can be recycled or composted.

........

Bread flour 25kg sack £6.50

Where may i ask do you buy your flour in bulk?

[Baccy Man]

I get flour & yeast in bulk from the bakery in the next village, free delivery too.

You can get it online from companies like http://www.visprod.co.uk but I find it's usually more expensive.

[Jeannine]

I can vouch for Baccymans Viscount(Visprod). I have bought from them for years. I bought all  bakery needs and others from them, they were prompt and competitive on prices. I never paid for delivery. I bought my flour from the mill in Driffield though but it was available from Viscount too.

Read the link. there are some really good buys there.

XX Jeannine

[thifasmom]

I get flour & yeast in bulk from the bakery in the next village, free delivery too.

You can get it online from companies like http://www.visprod.co.uk but I find it's usually more expensive.

I can vouch for Baccymans Viscount(Visprod). I have bought from them for years. I bought all  bakery needs and others from them, they were prompt and competitive on prices. I never paid for delivery. I bought my flour from the mill in Driffield though but it was available from Viscount too.

Read the link. there are some really good buys there.

XX Jeannine

thanks for the tip both of you will look into it.

[asbean]

Bagged or loose?

Which would you prefer:

Loose - where umpteen folk with bacteria ridden hands have poked/prodded/squeezed.
Bagged - where some immigrant whose just wiped his ar*e has packed it.

Well???????? :P >:(

In Italy shoppers are provided with disposable gloves to handle the fruit and veg which is mostly sold loose (even spinach).  Woe betide anyone who tries to touch the stuff with no glove they are severely reprimanded by the staff and other shoppers.  It's only necessary to use one glove.  (reminds me of golfers really, I wonder what they do with the other glove  ??? ??? ??? ??? ???)

Telboy - I know a lot of immigrants, in fact most of my friends are.  All of them have impeccable personal hygiene standards.  I would rather buy from an immigrant than something that's been handled by a snotty brit that has just picked their nose.

[star]

There is one of those here in Northampton, they do a food scheme for the needy, They also do something similar to a LETS scheme.

Its run purely by volunteers, they really are worth their weight in gold ;D

[flossy]

  For starters my preferance is ' loose '  , I like to buy a bit of this and a bit of that to keep me
  stocked for the week - dont want a bag of carrots that will wilt before I get through them [ yes, I know I can cook and freeze ] but I have lots else to do !    
   One 63p Pepper [ or two ] suits me as they are larger *  and the green ones give OH  ' gyp ''
   I too check the price per kilo, but what do you do when the blighters suddenly swich to per 100grms !
   In M....... 's today , couldn't find where a punnet of small plum toms had traveled from, sorce of supply !??

   Didn't know about food banks [ ashamed to say ], quite an eye opener !  Feel humble that people are
   really going hungry - and that 's not just the homeless but young families too.

   Yes, we look for the  ' red tickets ' [ orange - yellow ... ]  you would have to be ' blinkered ' if you didn't.

   What age groups do this too, it's not just us ' war babes ' is it - brought up to save a piece of string ?

   You're right asbean, can't fault the Italians in the shopping area, even it is a super- duper bright
   spanking new mega market  --  all the beautiful produce is laid out in all it's colourful glorry -- loose
    with scales and ticketing machine all ready for the check out --   and don't forget the gloves !!!!!

    Can someone tell me if ' cellophane ' is biodegradeable - know the checkout needs to see what you have
    so surely better than polythene bags ?

    How do you get rid of your unwanted packaging at the checkout please. will do the same !!

    So many questions --  and so little time !           ;D

     floss xxx

[coznbob]

Artichoke...

The shop is on Queen's Road on Hastings High street, a bit further up from the Priory Shopping centre. Can't remember the name though

Thanks for this thread, reminded me that I haven't been to that shop in ages.. must go and see what they have as going to town tomorrow.

Have also ordered online from one of the companies that sell past their best before dates products and have never been disappointed with the quality of the food.

[tonybloke]

I too check the price per kilo, but what do you do when the blighters suddenly swich to per 100grms !
   In M....... 's today , couldn't find where a punnet of small plum toms had traveled from, sorce of supply?

If pricing switched to 100 gms, just multiply by 10
If no country of origin, chances are it's Israel !! ;)

[asbean]

I too check the price per kilo, but what do you do when the blighters suddenly swich to per 100grms !
   In M....... 's today , couldn't find where a punnet of small plum toms had traveled from, sorce of supply?

If pricing switched to 100 gms, just multiply by 10
If no country of origin, chances are it's Israel !! ;)

In that case - go without  >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(

[tonybloke]

Same here, I'm afraid !! ;)

[Baccy Man]

For starters my preferance is ' loose '  , I like to buy a bit of this and a bit of that to keep me stocked for the week - dont want a bag of carrots that will wilt before I get through them [ yes, I know I can cook and freeze ] but I have lots else to do

I buy 20kg sacks of carrots they don't wilt before they get used. I only buy muddy root veg though never the washed stuff.

 Can someone tell me if ' cellophane ' is biodegradeable - know the checkout needs to see what you have
    so surely better than polythene bags ?

Cellophane is 100% biodegradable. When buried uncoated cellulose film degrades within 10 to 30 days, PVDC coated film degrades in 90 to 120 days, and nitrocellulose-coated cellulose film degrades in 60 to 90 days.
Whilst polythene is not cost effective to recyle & takes an awfully long time to degrade some other plastics can be broken down easily using bioremediation techniques eg: You can use phanerochaete chrysosporium to break down polystyrene trays in a few months in fact it will even break down the phenolic resins found in plywood which were believed to be virtually indestructible until a couple of years ago.

How do you get rid of your unwanted packaging at the checkout please. will do the same !!

Just leave the packaging on the checkout, you may get a funny look when you do it though.

[tonybloke]

phanerochaete chrysosporium, now there's an interesting fungus!!
http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/feb2007.html
Just started my second semester at college, one of my assignments will be about bio - remediation (found out today) coincidences, don't ya just notice them!!