A Swindon McDonald’s sold drinks past their best-before date or hours from expiring to a vulnerable customer.
Meg Rexworthy, 23, was “shocked and worried” when she noticed the McDonald’s milk had been sold on its use-by date, and the orange juice was three weeks past its best before.
She said: “Receiving not one but two bottles of milk on the use-by date (July 15) really has me worried that there’s more potentially being handed out today.
“Clearly stock rotation procedures haven’t been followed and could make someone seriously ill.”
(Image: Meg Rexworthy)
Meg, who suffers from Crohn’s disease, said: “My main concern was becoming sick if I hadn’t noticed the use-by date on the milk.
“Quite often I’ll use it for cereal the day after, so it wouldn’t be safe to drink. And milk is quite often selected by children who are vulnerable to becoming sick.”
Having recently had major surgery for a condition that affects her digestive system, Meg must take extra care with her food.
The food was bought from the West Swindon District Centre store, the lowest Google-ranked of all the Swindon stores.
(Image: Newsquest)
She threw away the orange juice which was 22 days past its June 23 best-before and the two milk bottles which exceeded their use-bys the very next day.
The Food Standards Agency says food should not be eaten past its use-by, advising: “Remember, you cannot smell the bacteria which make you ill.”
The agency adds a best-before is about quality and not safety. After a product’s best-before, it will be safe to eat but “may not be at its best”.
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Meg believes a reduced-quality juice should be reduced in price, with affected bottles sold separately and customers informed - which she was not.
A McDonald’s spokesperson said: “Food safety is of the utmost importance to us and we would like to apologise to the customer that on this occasion we have fallen short of the high standards we set ourselves.
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“The restaurant team has undertaken further stock checks to ensure that all remaining products are in date.
“We believe that the customer has been in touch with our Customer Services to help find a resolution.”
It is a criminal offence to sell food beyond a use-by date. Best-before dates are not legally binding, and it is up to retailers what they do with food past its best-before.
McDonald’s previously told The Mirror it sells food to customers that is past its "best before" date because it reduces food waste.
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