I do my weekly grocery shopping at a local, well-known store.  I like the store because of the prices and wide range of products.  Now, to be fair it can be any store, so I am not going to specific which store I am referring to.  My findings can happen anywhere to anyone.

It is clear to me that you need to check every product for the expiration date, if applicable and to make sure the safety seal has not been removed or broken.  I haven’t been as thorough as I need to, so from this point, I will check everything.

My son started to make a sandwich with some lunch meat I had just purchased a few days prior.  He checked the expiration date and saw that it was 19 days past the “Use By” date.  Yes, I know I should have checked it at the store, but I forgot.  I am thankful that I have been teaching my son to look at the expiration dates!

Some other unfortunate oversights on my part have involved a broken safety seal on a bottle of anti-acid tablets.  How ridiculous!

Then there was the time I purchased a frozen pizza that was six months past the expiration date!  Wow, did that make me mad!!!!

So, now the importance of checking everything including the prices is painfully evident, unless you want to either throw away the product or return it for an exchange or refund.  I choose to return the items based on the fact that I paid for them and the store management needs to know what is going with the products in their store.

Always keep your receipts, better yet make sure you take the time to check the dates and safety seals.  However, if you do find an out of date product or a broken safety seal, it’s good Kharma to tell someone in management so they are aware of it and might actually do something about it.  Don’t think of it as telling on someone, but looking out for others who might not notice.

A good store will accept the return, if they don’t……I would take my business elsewhere.

Happy shopping and stay focused!