A supermarket shopper has been left so furious after purchasing an out-of-date rhubarb pie from Morrisons that he decided to post it to the firm’s CEO.
The man, who did not wish to reveal his name, bought the £1.50 pie on September 5, but it had a ‘use by’ date for the day before.
Expressing his dismay to Birmingham Live, the man said: “I purchased a rhubarb pie from Morrisons in Cannock. It was out of date, which is illegal, and carries a fine of £5,000.”
In an email to the supermarket chain, the man explained this was not about obtaining a refund, but highlighting how he claims staff cutbacks have caused an oversight.
In the correspondence, the man wrote: “The staff at the store are very fantastic – always, always friendly and helpful.
“It is not their ‘fault’. Had there been a till open the ‘eagle-eyed’ till assistant could well have noticed the date on the pie was the day before.
“You can only spread staff so far without there being consequences.”
The man says he was offered a £2 refund via an e-voucher but says the oversight rests with company bosses.
Instead he popped the pie in the post to the CEO David Potts, who is set to be replaced by Rami Baitiéh, formerly chief executive of Carrefour France.
The shopper shared the photo of himself holding the parcel and said he had also sent the CEO a letter expressing his concerns.
Cannock Chase District Council in the West Midlands was contacted and it subsequently visited the store but found “no items past the use by date”.
The local authority said in a statement: “We can confirm that a visit was made to the store following the complaint but found no items past the use by date and discussed stock control in detail with the bakery management during the visit. The products found were low risk and actually could have had a best before date not a use by, but Morrisons decided to label with a use by.”
The Food Standards Agency says a ‘use-by’ date on food is about safety. It says: “This is the most important date to remember.
“Never eat food after the use-by date, even if it looks and smells ok, as it could make you very ill. You can eat food until midnight on the use-by date shown on a product, but not after, unless the food has been cooked or frozen.”
