The guy at the milk case in the supermarket. You know the guy. He and his cart are there checking the expiration date of

[CTyankee]

every bottle in the refrigerated shelves, while encircled by other shoppers want a turn to grab a bottle and go.

You know this guy? Or it could be a woman, no matter.

I dunno. Does a day or so matter THAT MUCH?

[debm55]

1. I know the person . He is also in the bread department of the store.

[WmChris]

2. I or my wife

We might be that person. We live an hour or better out of the city, so we only shop once a week. If you just grab what's in front it quite possibly could go bad before you could make the extended trip into town for a replacement. Therefore for some of us a day or two could be a problem.

[CTyankee]

5. My store has a Help Desk where you can get someone working there to give you assistance. If you have a Help Desk you can

explain your situation and they might be able to send someone to find a bottle that is dated far enough in advance to tide you over til your next shopping visit. My store also has a door next to the refrigerated section where you can ask an employee to get you a bottle with a date good for you. There are ways to deal with this. Clogging up a section of the store is unwieldly and makes everyone upset.

[WmChris]

15. We've never had a problem.

We aren't in a big city where everybody's in a hurry. We also go early on Sunday morning and pretty much have the store to ourselves.

[chia]

3. It matters to me! I took home several containers of yogurt without looking at the expiration date,

which of course, had expired. I realized that the first one I opened, which looked 'off,' so then I looked at the expiration date.
I took them back and got an exchange, and the clerk who helped me admitted that they were shorthanded at the store, and he knew the dates weren't being properly checked. And in fact, we found other outdated yogurts at the front of the shelf ready to be bought by other customers who might, like me, not have checked the date first. Lesson learned.

So yes, I appreciate the workers who check the expiration dates!

[True Dough]

4. I'm the guy

who opens the milk to see how fresh it smells. Then I'll often take a swig or two, just to be sure. If it's not up to par, I'll put it back in the cooler.

But, and this I can promise you, I'm careful not to backwash.

[CTyankee]

6. Just don't wipe your mouth on your sleeve, please...

[True Dough]

7. Yes, ma'am!

[Turbineguy]

8. The Dude abides.....

[hlthe2b]

9. If it is ultrapasteurized, no. Regular (standard pasteurized) milk, it can.

[doc03]

10. I buy the almond milk, it is good for 6 months. I don't use much milk except on

cereal. The ultra pasturised is also good for months.

[hlthe2b]

11. Yes. I think the OP is asking about dairy milk, though and it is far more subject to deterioration.

[ProfessorGAC]

12. You're Right

Last edited Sat Dec 7, 2024, 04:56 PM - Edit history (1)

Although non-harmful, pasteurization is designed to kill a specific group of pathogens likely to be present in cow's milk, there are other bacteria.
Some beneficial or benign bacteria in milk has less sensitivity to the temperature & time used to pasteurize.
Those bacteria have enzymes that accelerate lipolysis. The short chains on the butterfat get split into butyric & hexanoic acids. What we call going sour.
My dad worked for a dairy, so I learned how that stuff worked, then became a chemist, so know how it actually happens!

[beemerphill]

13. I'm that Guy!

I'm sorry that it gets your goat. At one time, I was a "grab and get going" type, but I figured that if I were paying for something, I wanted the longest shelf life I could get. Now I check the expiration date on almost everything. I am also that guy at the gas station who waits for his receipt. If I can wait for the person who parks his/her shopping cart in the middle of the aisle to move and waits while someone counts out the exact change, and trades stories with the cashier, it seems only reasonable that others would wait for me while I check expiration dates. It doesn't really take that long, and it gives me a few more days of freshness.

Again, Sorry, but I am not going to change.

[CTyankee]

17. Nobody is saying "grab and go." But people were waiting while this guy is inspecting every bottle. I check the

date but I don't go through bottle after bottle while other people wait. I found this shopper to be incredibly insensitive to other shoppers. And I have never seen this kind of behavior in that store and I've been shopping there for many years.

[Marthe48]

14. I park my cart away from the doors

but if I'm buying perishables, I try to notice the dates. With my eyes, getting to be a feat. Too many stores aren't rotating their stock. I'm not too far from the store, but I resent making an extra trip to replace a product or get an adjustment on the price.

[dawg]

16. It me.

[Aristus]

18. It does to Mrs. Aristus.

If milk is a nanosecond past its sell-by date, she pitches it.

I check the expiration dates. But it only takes me a few seconds because I am not a brainless doofus. Check, select, split.

[CTyankee]

20. I taste test one last time. If it tastes ok I'll keep it and try to get to the supermarket to replace it.

As a last resort I have powdered milk and can use that in hot coffee, altho it is sweet and I drink my coffee w/no sugar.

[Figarosmom]

19. It takes me a while to finish

A gallon of milk. So yeah a day or two make a difference. I have to figure if I can't finish it to just get the half Galion then and likely run out of milk before I can get back to the store. But anyway I've started buying pantry milk at the dollar store so problem solved. And I don't drink as much milk anymore, I've switched to almond milk for my blood pressure

But I never stood in the frig checking the date, I took the bottle to my cart and had my daughter check it because I can't see very well.

[CTyankee]

22. Do you have freezer space to freeze some?

But can you freeze milk?

[Figarosmom]

23. No space. Yes you can freeze

[haele]

21. Depends on the brand and type.

Whole milk goes bad once opened faster than 1% or non-fat, typically within a week, no matter what the "2 week good for use" date says. So if the use by date is within 5 or 6 days since you bought it, it might only be good for a day or two after opening.

The big name factory processed milk and milk products also tend to go bad faster, so it really is important to check the date if you're not going to use it all within a few days.

Around here, local sourced pasteurized whole milk is actually good for the full two weeks, once you open it.

Haele