Walmart Supercentre - Sarnia, Ontario N7S 6M8 (SmartCentres Sarnia)

Selling Expired Product? | by Tony Zangolli on Jun 09, 2020

On Sunday, May 3, I made a quick trip to get some essential groceries and pick up a prescription. One of the items I picked up was a jar of mayonnaise. I didn't realize until I got home that the expiry date was Sept of 2019. It caught my attention when I went to place it in the fridge and noticed it "runny" in the jar. I admit, I don't usually check the date on products like that. I kind of feel like I shouldn't need to. Albeit, some things slip by. However, this had expired 9 months ago. I called the store right away to let them know and was wondering, given the times we're in, what I could do? The woman on the phone was great. She apologized and told me to return anytime with my receipt for a refund. I returned the next day to return the jar and get a new one. When I arrived at the Customer Service counter and showed the lady the date on the jar, she told me, "No. That's the time." I've been shopping for groceries for many years, I know what an expiry date looks like. I felt a little slighted and as though I was trying to be dismissed. I instinctively replied, "Um. No it's not, dear." Now, I know I shouldn't have said "dear". It was an impulse. I use the word a lot and it just came out, I didn't mean to be disrespectful nor condescending. I also apologized to the woman behind the counter telling her I didn't mean any disrespect. I pointed out the "runny-ness" of the product in the jar as well. With that, she asked for my receipt and proceeded to refund my debit card. However, she refunded me a dollar less than I had originally paid, without tax. I know I paid tax on that item. Whatever, I'm not worried about the dollar although, these days, a buck is a buck. Anyway, I thanked her and went to get my new jar of mayo. The first jar I picked up I, this time, checked the date.. IT WAS THE JAR I HAD JUST RETURNED! THE EXPIRED ONE! So I think that perhaps I am, indeed, reading theses dates wrong. So I grab another jar. Nope. All the dates on the other jars read "202011**" with a "time-stamp" underneath. So I found an associate in the same aisle and approached her with both jars. I asked her if one was expired. She completely agreed and thanked me for bringing it to her attention. I went and looked at the other jars. Luckily, there were no other expired on on the shelf. I guess my question to Walmart is, "Is it common practice to try and pass off expired product in hopes that the consumer doesn't notice it?" This a picture of the replacement jar I got. The one I returned read "201909**" It's disappointing. I sent an email to Walmart on May 4 to explain everything I just did here, hoping I would have received a reply. I haven't heard back. That's the only reason posted this.