The local market typically offers perishing little by way of variety
in its produce and meat, but every now and again somebody over there
gets a little bit adventurous and things like fennel show up among the
zucchini and onions. This week it was lamb rib chops next to the pork
and beef. Expensive, they were. A packet of three was over $10 US.
Some were marked for sale before the 27th, some for the 28th. They
didn't sell for two reasons: The price was too high, and denizens of
Cow Hill don't often eat lamb.

I watched and waited.

This morning, D hit the store before she went to work and found two
packs one day past their sell-by date but not yet marked down. She
asked at the meat counter whether they would mark them down. You bet.
The guy in back (who may or may not be a butcher) cut a buck off the
price. Still too high. She didn't buy.

At lunch time, I dropped by the store to see what had developed, and
sure enough the little darlings were half price. Got 'em. I'm
planning on doing them up for dinner tonight with mint, mustard,
garlic and herbs -- medium rare with a sauce of much reduced chicken
stock and maybe some yogurt.

It wasn't exactly like bargaining, but still...

My method won't work with those pretty tuna steaks I saw there today,
however. Nobody wants used fish.


modom

"Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes."
-- Jimmie Dale Gilmore

In article >, Michael Odom
> wrote:

> The local market typically offers perishing little by way of variety
> in its produce and meat, but every now and again somebody over there
> gets a little bit adventurous and things like fennel show up among the
> zucchini and onions. This week it was lamb rib chops next to the pork
> and beef. Expensive, they were. A packet of three was over $10 US.
> Some were marked for sale before the 27th, some for the 28th. They
> didn't sell for two reasons: The price was too high, and denizens of
> Cow Hill don't often eat lamb.
>
> I watched and waited.

Heh! The true spirit of lurking lives on in Cow Hill.
>
> This morning, D hit the store before she went to work and found two
> packs one day past their sell-by date but not yet marked down. She
> asked at the meat counter whether they would mark them down. You bet.
> The guy in back (who may or may not be a butcher) cut a buck off the
> price. Still too high. She didn't buy.
>
> At lunch time, I dropped by the store to see what had developed, and
> sure enough the little darlings were half price. Got 'em.

He scores!! Go, Michael, go, Michael (dances and claps)
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> 2005 Pirohy Marathon pics added 1-23-05.
"I read recipes the way I read science fiction: I get to the end and
say,'Well, that's not going to happen.'" - Comedian Rita Rudner,
performance at New York, New York, January 10, 2005.

On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 16:24:30 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
> wrote:


>> I watched and waited.
>
>Heh! The true spirit of lurking lives on in Cow Hill.
>>
Ayup.

>> This morning, D hit the store before she went to work and found two
>> packs one day past their sell-by date but not yet marked down. She
>> asked at the meat counter whether they would mark them down. You bet.
>> The guy in back (who may or may not be a butcher) cut a buck off the
>> price. Still too high. She didn't buy.
>>
>> At lunch time, I dropped by the store to see what had developed, and
>> sure enough the little darlings were half price. Got 'em.
>
>He scores!! Go, Michael, go, Michael (dances and claps)

Boy did I ever score. I Frenched the chops (I just love that verb)
and rubbed them with French Dijon mustard, Mexican dried mint, salt,
pepper, and lemon juice. Then I seared them in a skillet and finished
them in a hot oven in a pan with some steamed veggies: Carrots,
cauliflower, and broccoli. While they were finishing, I reduced some
already much reduced homemade chicken stock spiked with garlic, lemon
juice and S&P in the skillet. I tossed them in the sauce at serving
time.

YUM.

modom

"Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes."
-- Jimmie Dale Gilmore

"Michael Odom" > wrote in message
...
> The local market typically offers perishing little by way of variety
> in its produce and meat, but every now and again somebody over there
> gets a little bit adventurous and things like fennel show up among the
> zucchini and onions. This week it was lamb rib chops next to the pork
> and beef. Expensive, they were. A packet of three was over $10 US.
> Some were marked for sale before the 27th, some for the 28th. They
> didn't sell for two reasons: The price was too high, and denizens of
> Cow Hill don't often eat lamb.
>
> I watched and waited.
>
> This morning, D hit the store before she went to work and found two
> packs one day past their sell-by date but not yet marked down. She
> asked at the meat counter whether they would mark them down. You bet.
> The guy in back (who may or may not be a butcher) cut a buck off the
> price. Still too high. She didn't buy.
>
> At lunch time, I dropped by the store to see what had developed, and
> sure enough the little darlings were half price. Got 'em. I'm
> planning on doing them up for dinner tonight with mint, mustard,
> garlic and herbs -- medium rare with a sauce of much reduced chicken
> stock and maybe some yogurt.
>
> It wasn't exactly like bargaining, but still...
>
> My method won't work with those pretty tuna steaks I saw there today,
> however. Nobody wants used fish.
>
>
> modom
>
> "Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes."
> -- Jimmie Dale Gilmore


In our State N.S.W.( Sydney) Australia....It is both Illegal to (1) Mark
them down and sell on the day of use by !

(2) Sell them 'at all' AFTER the Use by date !

I asked the assistant at one of our 'Woolworths' Food Stores about a some
'Meat' that had reached it's use by date...I was told by him that he could
not sell it to me (as a mark down) as it was 'Illegal' to do so...He then
took it outside to dispose of !

--
Bigbazza(Barry)..Oz

"Bigbazza" > wrote in
:

"Michael Odom" > wrote in message
...

> This morning, D hit the store before she went to work and found two
> packs one day past their sell-by date but not yet marked down. She
> asked at the meat counter whether they would mark them down. You bet.
> The guy in back (who may or may not be a butcher) cut a buck off the
> price. Still too high. She didn't buy.
>
> At lunch time, I dropped by the store to see what had developed, and
> sure enough the little darlings were half price.
>
>
> In our State N.S.W.( Sydney) Australia....It is both Illegal to (1)
> Mark them down and sell on the day of use by !
>
>
> (2) Sell them 'at all' AFTER the Use by date !
>
> I asked the assistant at one of our 'Woolworths' Food Stores about a
> some 'Meat' that had reached it's use by date...I was told by him that
> he could not sell it to me (as a mark down) as it was 'Illegal' to do
> so...He then took it outside to dispose of !
>

The date marking rules are detailed in the Australia New Zealand Food
Standards Code which applies to the whole country, not just NSW, I
believe.

Since Woolies are marking their meat with a "use by" date rather than a
"best before" date, then it is illegal to sell it after the "use by"
date. It's fine to sell it on the "use by" date as far as I'm aware and
I've often purchased marked down meat at Woolies which has been marked
"Reduced for Quick Sale".I think they usually do this a day or so before
the "use by" date, but it can still be bought on the "use by" date - I've
done so.

Under the Food Standards Code there are two types of date marking which
can be used (in addition to baked on and baked for etc. for bread) - "use
by" and "best before". They are not interchangeable.

According to the Food Standards Australia New Zealand site and their
guide for manufacturers the "best before" date is the last date on which
a food can be expected to retain all its quality attributes, provided
it's been stored in accordance with any stated storage conditions. The
food may still be safe to consume after this date.Food with a "best
before" date mark can continue to be sold after this date provided it is
not damaged, deteriorated etc.

A "use by" date is the last date on which food can be consumed safely,
provided it has been stored in accordance with stated storage conditions.
Sale of a food past its "use by" date is prohibited.

It's up to the manufacturer to decide which type of marking they should
use. Food Standards have a guide which gives examples of how to decide
this. According to their guide, in general, raw food which needs to be
cooked (e.g. meat) can be given a "best before" date. It really only
seems to indicate a "use by" date for chilled ready to eat food (which
won't undergo any further cooking to kill bacteria).

Woolies obviously decided to use the "use by" markings on their meat, and
so cannot sell it past the "use by" date. If they changed to using "best
before" dates, they could discount it for sale after the date if they
wished. I'd guess they'd prefer not to risk someone buying meat past its
prime.

If they did start doing it, I'd prefer they didn't call it "used meat"
though <g>

References -

the section of the Food Standards Code dealing with date marking (PDF
version)

http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/_src...arking_v63.pdf

User Guide to Standard 1.2.5 - Date Marking of Packaged Food

http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/_src...arking0917.pdf


Rhonda Anderson
Cranebrook, NSW, Australia

Bigbazza wrote:

> I asked the assistant at one of our 'Woolworths' Food Stores about a some
> 'Meat' that had reached it's use by date...I was told by him that he could
> not sell it to me (as a mark down) as it was 'Illegal' to do so...He then
> took it outside to dispose of !

What a shameful waste!

Kate


--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?

Michael Odom wrote:

> The local market typically offers perishing little by way of variety
> in its produce and meat, but every now and again somebody over there
> gets a little bit adventurous and things like fennel show up among the
> zucchini and onions. This week it was lamb rib chops next to the pork
> and beef. Expensive, they were. A packet of three was over $10 US.
> Some were marked for sale before the 27th, some for the 28th. They
> didn't sell for two reasons: The price was too high, and denizens of
> Cow Hill don't often eat lamb.
> I watched and waited. ... At lunch time, I dropped by the store to see
> what had developed, and sure enough the little darlings were half
> price. Got 'em. ...

Went out the military commissary today to order beef round for jerky.
Found "lamb for stew" marked down to $1US a pound. That's right 100 cents
per pound. They freeze the meats on the last sell day, then mark them
down.
Visited a couple of Mediterranean/Indian markets on the west side.
Picked up several packages of various garam marsala, curries, and
shishkabob seasonings. Heat up the grill, fellars! That last chain store
curry I bought in desperation was very bland, best used on the batch of
jerky. One of these days I'll get to making my own.
Edrena