Allotments 4 All
Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: vegmandan on February 03, 2009, 23:46:36
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Just been into my local Supermarket and they had bags of Potatoes and Bananas in the "Reduced" bin which will be thrown away tomorrow as they will exceed their "best before date" ???
How ridiculous that the EU have decided in their infinate wisdom that a vegetable that is "Bagged" has a sell by date where as if it is sold loose then it doesn't !! :o
A pototo or a banana isn't unsafe to eat if it's passed it's sell by date in a plastic bag !!. :-[
OK If the spuds are green or the bananas are all brown and rotten then fair enough but to put a short time limit on selling a bag of spuds that will have been stored for the best part of 6 months quite harmlessley beforehand by the farmer is utterly preposterous. :-\
The bananas I saw were still green but due to EU laws had passed their sell by date and would be disposed of the next day. : :'(
Needless to say I bought all the spuds at 49p per 5lb bag and the bananas at 24p for a bunch. ;D
It's about time these Supermarkets took a stance regarding these daft EU laws and stopped throwing away perfectly good food. :-X
Rant over. ;D
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I always start my shopping at the reduced bins, regardless whether it's fruit & veg, bread or chilled department. It don't half make my money go further & I get some right good bargains.
A couple of weeks ago I bought a 4 pint carton of organic milk for 10p!!! It made a lovely egg custard and semolina pudding, plus there was still some available for my breakfast & a treat for the cat.
I've also bought blocks of butter for a fraction of their normal price & with reduced price veg it all goes into the pot & becomes lovely healthy low-fat low-calorie soup.
CC
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How ridiculous that the EU have decided in their infinate wisdom that a vegetable that is "Bagged" has a sell by date where as if it is sold loose then it doesn't !! :o
A pototo or a banana isn't unsafe to eat if it's passed it's sell by date in a plastic bag !!. :-[
OK If the spuds are green or the bananas are all brown and rotten then fair enough but to put a short time limit on selling a bag of spuds that will have been stored for the best part of 6 months quite harmlessley beforehand by the farmer is utterly preposterous. :-\
There is a great difference between a "bagged" product and a loose product. The bagged product is in a plastic bag and subject to rot due to no ventilation. You wouldn't last very long if they stuck you in a plastic bag.
Most root veg. are washed, this starts the decay. If you buy loose "dirt on" potatoes and root veg. they will last weeks if stored properly (cool, well ventilated and in the dark).
Green veg. will also start to decay if left in a plastic wrapper.
The EU regulations are only putting into writing what the countryman has been practising for years. Granny and eggs spring to mind.
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Just been into my local Supermarket and they had bags of Potatoes and Bananas in the "Reduced" bin which will be thrown away tomorrow as they will exceed their "best before date" ???
How ridiculous that the EU have decided in their infinate wisdom that a vegetable that is "Bagged" has a sell by date where as if it is sold loose then it doesn't !! :o
.......The bananas I saw were still green but due to EU laws had passed their sell by date and would be disposed of the next day. : :'(
'Sell by' dates & 'Display until' dates have nothing to do with EU laws. It is up to the manufacturer or shop if it wants to put a 'Sell by' or 'Display until' date on packaged foods. They are used as a guide to when the product is likely to start deteriorating so shop staff can ensure only the most aesthetically pleasing produce is on display.
'Use by' & 'Best before' dates are regulated by the FSA all food products must have at least one of these dates displayed. It is against the law to sell any food that has passed its 'use by' date as consuming it after this date could potentially put your health at risk.
Best before' dates relate to quality not safety with the exception of eggs which can contain salmonella bacteria, which could start to multiply after the 'best before' date. Foods will still be safe to eat just not at their best anymore.
It's not illegal for shops to sell food after its 'best before', 'sell by' or 'display until' date. but wether in date or not food sold must not put people's health at risk and must not be falsely or misleadingly described or presented.
There are numerous companies who purchase food past it's best before date & sell it off cheap such as http://www.approvedfood.co.uk/
Unfortunately as companies often don't like their brand names being associated with discounted food a lot of perfectly good food still ends up in landfill purely to protect brand names.
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Just been into my local Supermarket and they had bags of Potatoes and Bananas in the "Reduced" bin which will be thrown away tomorrow as they will exceed their "best before date" ???
How ridiculous that the EU have decided in their infinate wisdom that a vegetable that is "Bagged" has a sell by date where as if it is sold loose then it doesn't !! :o
.......The bananas I saw were still green but due to EU laws had passed their sell by date and would be disposed of the next day. : :'(
'Sell by' dates & 'Display until' dates have nothing to do with EU laws. It is up to the manufacturer or shop if it wants to put a 'Sell by' or 'Display until' date on packaged foods. They are used as a guide to when the product is likely to start deteriorating so shop staff can ensure only the most aesthetically pleasing produce is on display.
'Use by' & 'Best before' dates are regulated by the FSA all food products must have at least one of these dates displayed. It is against the law to sell any food that has passed its 'use by' date as consuming it after this date could potentially put your health at risk.
Best before' dates relate to quality not safety with the exception of eggs which can contain salmonella bacteria, which could start to multiply after the 'best before' date. Foods will still be safe to eat just not at their best anymore.
It's not illegal for shops to sell food after its 'best before', 'sell by' or 'display until' date. but wether in date or not food sold must not put people's health at risk and must not be falsely or misleadingly described or presented.
There are numerous companies who purchase food past it's best before date & sell it off cheap such as http://www.approvedfood.co.uk/
Unfortunately as companies often don't like their brand names being associated with discounted food a lot of perfectly good food still ends up in landfill purely to protect brand names.
Spot on.
There's a great shop in Hastings that sells food past its best before date, mostly luxury stuff at micro prices.
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There is a place in Sheffield that makes a living out of selling 'best before' expired foods etc.....
http://www.approvedfood.co.uk/index.asp
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Who asked for bananas and potatoes to be put into plastic bags in the first place? I'm sure it wasn't the general public, who are still happy to peel off bag after bag at the checkout, which makes them bagged twice.
No, I think it's for the convenience of the supermarket (as always). They make it easier for someone to take a bag of something rather than select what they need. The public is lulled into thinking "how convenient" and before you know it you hear people saying "but it's so conveninent shopping at the supermarket" while all along they are laughing all the way to the bank. >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(
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what i have noticed of late is that the bagged produce is now working out cheaper than the loose produce.
take for instance tesco is selling loose sweetpeppers at 60p ea but a bag of three sweetpeppers are going at £1.38 (46p/ea). now i have noticed this is the case with carrots, sometimes broccoli and other veges. i used to always pick up the unbagged fruit with out really casting my eyes at the price with the assumption that bagged items would be more expensive due to packaging. but i have come to realise over the last few months that this is not the case. so i check their prices and buy cheaper if its the bagged one i leave their packaging at the checkout.
is this the supermarkets way of ensuring we buy food in the way they want to sell it :-\.
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Very true that washed fruit and veg does not last as long.
I at first was washing my carrots before putting them in the fridge and when i came to use them they had gone 'limp and also strawberries go soggy and mouldy after washing and storing them. :(
Sometimes supermarket bagged veg works out cheaper than loose,just look in the bottom corner of the display label where the price is and it will show you the price per kg so do compare this when buying.' :)
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Yes I agree that all this nonsense about it being convenient shopping at a supermarket is just a big con.
I would far rather bundle my children into the car and drive to the local butchers to buy the meat then to put the children back into the car and drive to the greengrocers, find somewhere to park, cross over the narrow but always busy village road and buy my greenery.
Then its off to ye olde worlde grocery shop and post office to try to navigate the narrow aisles to buy any provisions.
Hmmm, I'm starting to think that supermarkets are making money because they provide a service that is needed, sadly some people do want to buy their bananas in a bag to save them even more time, I'm not one of them. Its de rigeur to slate supermarkets and to suggest that we should prance along villages waving wicker shopping baskets in our arms, but sadly that is just not reality.
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No, sadly it's not a reality - those shops don't exist - at least not in my neck of the woods :( :( :( :( :( :(
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plenty of local well stocked shops up here!!
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Our village shops are very good.
Butcher,greengrocer.............two grocery and a chemist.
Plus we have a farm shop not too far away.
Stress free shopping.
I only go to the supermarket when I am looking for a much bigger choice.
Last time was just before Christmas.
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Plus...............they do a lovely special everyday :)
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Bagged v packaged.
In Asda they sell green grapes in a zippy plastic bag for £1.98 per kilo or in a flimsy plastic tub within mesh bag at £1.98.
Sounds good - get them in tte tub with mesh across as they should keep longer except that the tub only contains 500g i.e. twice the price of the ones in the bag !
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Amphibian, can you tell me more about the shop in Hastings "mostly luxury stuff at micro prices" ??? Its name and where it is?
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Carrot-cruncher. Milk can be frozen. I always have a few pints in the freezer. I put them in the frig. over night to thaw.
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there was a program on about people who just lived out of the food in the bin at supermarkets. I though yuck till i saw them bring out unopened crates of food !!!
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My daughter and her house mates used to live on the fruit and veg thrown away by a local health food shop. On any given Sunday there would be trays of different veg including baking potatoes?? in the skip. Nothing wrong with any of it.
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There is car boot sale on the estate where I worked once a week and one of the stall holders has tons of stuff that is close to sell by date, fresh, tinned and packaged. I have paid 25p for red salmon. less for corned beef, Salad dressings sell for about 10p, biscuits and packs of chocolate bars 10 for £1. I know that many of the customers live off these stalls and am glad to see them.
I think it is a shame that so much stuff is wasted.
?? Are there not food banks in the UK where folks get can get free food if they need too. in Canada there are several in each city and much stuff is picked up by the banks from shops and manufacturers.
Free bread was always available from the local bakery if a couple of days old and what was not taken was given to the local Salvation Army thrift shop, they in turn had it as free on their counter for the next day.
Excess veggies from gardeners was given to the food banks too. but I don't think I have heard of one here. Am I wrong? They also do Christmas hampers to the needy.
XX Jeannine
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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.
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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/
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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
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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.
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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 >:(
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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
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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 :)
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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.
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Bread flour 25kg sack £6.50
Where may i ask do you buy your flour in bulk?
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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 !! ;)
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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 >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(
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Same here, I'm afraid !! ;)
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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.
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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!!
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Amphibian, can you tell me more about the shop in Hastings "mostly luxury stuff at micro prices" ??? Its name and where it is?
I have no idea what it is called but it is on Queen's Road, heading out of town, opposite side of road from the shopping centre, just looks like a newsagent*
*this was years ago, dunno if it is still there.
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there was a program on about people who just lived out of the food in the bin at supermarkets. I though yuck till i saw them bring out unopened crates of food !!!
They're called Freegans
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freegans (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freegans)
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there was a program on about people who just lived out of the food in the bin at supermarkets. I though yuck till i saw them bring out unopened crates of food !!!
They're called Freegans
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freegans (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freegans)
Trouble is these days it's illegal to remove stuff that people are going to throw away from their skip as I'ts classed as theft.
And there will be some "Big Brother" official or CCTV operator who'll no doubt feel it's his civic duty to report such an offence. ::)
Ridiculous I know !!!!! ::)
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It's only illegal to steal from a skip! you are allowed to ASK for the stuff!! ;)
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ok, I'm not stiring just interested
if its in the bin/skip/whatever on its way to landfill just who are you stealing from?
lbb
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ok, I'm not stiring just interested
if its in the bin/skip/whatever on its way to landfill just who are you stealing from?
lbb
Rubbish in a bin is the property of whoevers bin it is once the rubbish is collected ownership is transferred to the company who operates the refuse collection service.
It is then taken to the local rubbish dump.
Any item left at the local rubbish dump becomes the property of the council (or whoever has a licence to run the site).
Any item left in a skip becomes the property of the skip hire company. If something is accidentally placed in there which shouldn't of been there is some scope for the original owner to claim a mistake and take property back. However, no third party can remove items from skips that do not belong to them and assume that this becomes their property in law as it would be an offence under the theft act 1968 a copy of which should be on http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk (http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk).
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thankyou Baccy Man
how about if 'it' is just kind of on the path/road?
lbb
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That would make it a lot harder to determine whose property it is but it would still be considered theft to take it. The general term applied would be "stealing by finding" although it is not specifically defined in the theft act 1968 the definitions of appropriates & theft given in that act make it clear you can't take something which is not yours even if you believe the owner no longer wants it. If you took somebodys rubbish without their permission you would not necessarily be dishonest but you would be a thief.
3. “Appropriates”.— (1) Any assumption by a person of the rights of an owner amounts to an appropriation, and this includes, where he has come by the property (innocently or not) without stealing it, any later assumption of a right to it by keeping or dealing with it as owner.
Basic definition of theft.— (1) A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it; and “thief” and “steal” shall be construed accordingly.
(2) It is immaterial whether the appropriation is made with a view to gain, or is made for the thief’s own benefit.
There are of course exceptions, property found in a street can be handed in to a police station if it is not claimed within 28 days you may be able to claim it yourself unless it falls into one of the following categories.
The value of the property exceeds £50.00.
The property is dangerous, for example a weapon, ammunition or explosive.
The property is an official or personal document.
The property bears a clue to ownership.
You are under 18 years old
The property is suspected to be proceeds of crime
The property is a cheque, key, pawn ticket or an official or personal document.
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I've always made a point of asking the builders before taking anything from a skip. Not only is this the polite British thing to do, it also gives the opportunity to find out what is likely to be put in later. Skips cost a lot of money so no one is likely to refuse you permission to take anything away.
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I've always made a point of asking the builders before taking anything from a skip. Not only is this the polite British thing to do, it also gives the opportunity to find out what is likely to be put in later. Skips cost a lot of money so no one is likely to refuse you permission to take anything away.
Ditto from me !
also get wood from the local waste transfer station, after all , they've been paid to landfill it, so they glad you take it away!! ;)