Why do supermarkets throw away perfectly good sandwiches which those in need could have?

[Pickles]

I just went to a co op branch in Worthing ( I won't name the branch ) and one of the staff was filling up a trolley with sandwiches from the shelf, all with reduced stickers on. I asked where they they were going? Apparently, they're all thrown away.

They were reduced to £1.19 each and there was about 20 of them.

I said I'll give you a fiver for the lot ( seeing as you're throwing them away ) and cycle down Worthing town centre and seafront and give to the homeless down here.( yes, I do know where they congregate, I used to be one ).

I was told that they have to sell at that price or throw them away. They can't give them to the homeless, or indeed sell at less that on the current reduced price Why not??

I've seen exactly this happen before at a petrol station in Findon valley that has a supermarket franchise.

Does anyone know why they have to do this?

 

[Billy the Fish]

I remember when this first came in, in the late 90s when I worked at Sainsbury's. They did used to give food away but I was told it got stopped because of health and safety

 

[Easy 10]

Because they'll get sued if someone eats them and goes down with food poisoning.

 

[Spider]

Judging by the behaviour of certain customers in both the Hove and Holmbush Tesco stores when the staff bring out the 'final reduction' items, I'm not surprised lots of stores think it isn't worth the hassle. Some people have no shame! Always fancied being an employee for a day just so I could have a game of trying to give heavily reduced items to anyone except the regulars!

 

[Pickles]

Billy, I get that fully, which is why I stipulated sandwiches and not uncooked produce etc.

They were also throwing away bread, french sticks that was fresh 16 hours ago.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Because they'll get sued if someone eats them and goes down with food poisoning.

How would a homeless person get the money to pay a lawyer to sue? It doesn't come under legal aid.

 

[Mr Putdown]

How would a homeless person get the money to pay a lawyer to sue? It doesn't come under legal aid.

The council's EHO can recommend a prosecution.

 

[Easy 10]

How would a homeless person get the money to pay a lawyer to sue? It doesn't come under legal aid.

Ambulance chasers. Where there's blame, there's a claim.

 

[crookie]

Used to work in Safeways in Crowborough, end if the night you could buy whatever was left in the bakery for 10p per item. They then suddenly changed it, apparently because of theft, and everything was binned instead. Mental

Sent from my SM-G928F using Tapatalk

 

[JackB247]

Worked at waitrose a few summers back and was part of the in store team that reduced stock close to its sell by date and then wasted it at the end of the day if it went unsold which was definitely the worst part of the job. Always frustrated me how we were limited in how little we could reduce the product by no matter how close to closing time it was.

 

[whitelion]

Worked at waitrose a few summers back and was part of the in store team that reduced stock close to its sell by date and then wasted it at the end of the day if it went unsold which was definitely the worst part of the job. Always frustrated me how we were limited in how little we could reduce the product by no matter how close to closing time it was.

At one time you could pick up a bargain in my local Tesco at Holmbush Shoreham. Ie bread for 10p - meat and fish for 10% etc.

Seems that items are very rarely reduced to less than 50% now and are removed from the shelves around 5pm. I don't know if it's thrown away or handed on to a homeless charity. I hope it's the latter.

 

[RM-Taylor]

In Sainsbury's the reduced items or what's left of them will be 10p or so in the last couple of hours of trading. We, and I presume all the other supermarkets don't send any waste back to landfill so it doesn't end up in the bin. It all gets recycled at specialist centres in to other items.

 

[JackB247]

At one time you could pick up a bargain in my local Tesco at Holmbush Shoreham. Ie bread for 10p - meat and fish for 10% etc.

Seems that items are very rarely reduced to less than 50% now and are removed from the shelves around 5pm. I don't know if it's thrown away or handed on to a homeless charity. I hope it's the latter.

That would be correct, can't remember ever reducing anything to anything under about 40-50% of its original price, was limited by a handset which decided the price and then would print off a bar code to go on sed item. I must confess to not knowing to where the produce went after it had been binned, never asked what the policy was on that.

 

[AK74]

https://www.pret.co.uk/en-gb/pret-charity-run

Pret set a good example.

 

[Albion my Albion]

How would a homeless person get the money to pay a lawyer to sue? It doesn't come under legal aid.

Not all barristers do it for money IF they lose their ruling.

 

[wellquickwoody]

How would a homeless person get the money to pay a lawyer to sue? It doesn't come under legal aid.

Plenty of ambitious young lawyers willing to take on a case in the hope of it generating publicity and making them a name to remember.

 

[Justice]

I knew a fella who became a millionaire selling out of date microwave ready meals to Eastern Europe had contracts with a few of the major supermarkets.

 

[Dorset Seagull]

I assume it's because many people would just hold off buying until the last minute at the lowest price. This would devalue the products resulting in less profit from the overall sales.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Because they'll get sued if someone eats them and goes down with food poisoning.

Nonsense.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

I assume it's because many people would just hold off buying until the last minute at the lowest price. This would devalue the products resulting in less profit from the overall sales.

Is the correct answer - all about profit not H&S.