An upset ouma was shocked to discover the chocolates she bought her great-grandchildren fr Christmas had expired by almost a year after purchasing it at a Cash ‘n Carry in Ottery last week.
Avril Masters from Lotus River says last Wednesday she bought four Kinder Creamy Milk and Crunchy choccies at Sweet Xpress in Ottery and paid R4.99 for each, but when she arrived home, she saw the expiry date was on 8 January 2024 already.
She says, “I often buy at Sweet Xpress. I buy the children’s juices and sweets like jub-jubs from there but the other sweets did not have expiry dates. I only realised the Kinder Creamy Milk and Crunchy’s are expired when I got home. Luckily we did not eat it yet and I threw the bloody stuff away.
“I paid a total of R19.95 for the four units. I asked why it was so cheap and what was the normal price as these imports cost quite a bit.
“I got no response, just a blank stare. I did not go back to the store [to complain] because, I will just get a blank stare [again] but I will not go back there.
When the Daily Voice contacted Sweet Express, we were informed that the customer has a choice to buy the product or not as there are posters displayed around the shop saying they sold dated stock.
The store manager, who did not want to give his name, said they have a few items “which are short dated but there are big posters saying they do sell dated stuff”.
However, Avril said she did not see the posters, while the City of Cape Town says its the customer’s responsibility to check sell-by dates.
Mayco Member for Community Services and Health, Patricia van der Ross, says there is no provision for expired goods in South African legislation as the legislation refers to “best before”, “use by” or “sell by” as dates of durability.
“It is important to note that, with regard to shelf stable goods, i.e. items that do not require refrigeration, food items could still be safe to use, but the nutritional value, taste, texture and colour may diminish after the best before date. Perishables and cold chain goods should not be sold past the use-by dates.
“Where Environmental Health Practitioners come across foodstuffs that they believe may pose a danger to health if consumed they are mandated by law, to seize such goods; although such instances occur very rarely.
“Dated products are purchased and used at customers’ own discretion and it remains the customer’s responsibility to check the dates of durability before purchasing.”