If you’re buying groceries and produce, you want to know that what you are getting is fresh, edible, and in its best condition. With that in mind, you might be wondering, what is the Kroger expired food policy?
Kroger products that can lose freshness and quality will have either be labeled with a “Best If Used By” or a “Use By” date. They cannot sell food that has expired, but you can return food that has not been opened within 30 days of purchase.
Read ahead to discover everything you need to know about expired food at Kroger.
How Does Kroger Label Their Food?
It can be hard to tell exactly how long your food will have before it might spoil, particularly with all the unclear labels and dates that never seem to be consistent across different stores.
In fact, it’s estimated that around 20% of all of the food waste in America comes as a direct result of confusion about date labels – and there is a lot of food waste in America.
Nearly 40% of all of the food in America goes to waste, which amounts to a colossal 119 billion pounds of food being thrown away every single year. That equates to around $408 billion going straight into the trash, or 130 billion meals that could have been feeding families across the country.
At Kroger, they have relatively recently changed their food labels to try and make things a little more clear to customers, with the hope that this will reduce the amount of edible and healthy food that gets needlessly tossed out. They have two labels to look out for:
- “Best If Used By”. This label concerns the quality of the food and is used for products that should last for some time in the cupboard or the refrigerator. It means that they may lose some of their flavor and quality after this date, but they should still be safe to eat for a while, even if this date has passed.
- “Use By”. This label is in regard to food safety. It is used for foods that have a limited shelf life and may actually become unsafe to eat once this date has passed. If your food from Kroger passes its “Use By” date, then it is likely that the item has expired and should be thrown away.
What Does Kroger Do With Unsold Food?
So what happens to the food that does go beyond its “Use By” date at Kroger? Well, it is illegal for any grocery store to sell expired food, so you should not find it on their shelves.
If you do, they will not sell it to you when you reach the counter, and that expired food will be thrown away.
However, not all of the food that goes unsold at Kroger is expired, and a lot of it is still safe to eat.
As part of their Zero Hunger | Zero Waste policy, Kroger works with Feeding America to deliver safe, healthy unsold food to people in need. In 2021, they donated over 94 million pounds of unsold food to the Feeding America network so that it could be distributed to communities across the country.
They also work with the World Wildlife Fund to keep track of their food waste footprint, and this has helped them to reduce the amount of food waste that they generate by nearly 20% and divert nearly 50% more unused food from landfill than before.
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Can You Return Unopened Food?
If you take your food home from Kroger but realize that it is not something that you wanted, what kind of options do you have?
Kroger is generally pretty generous when it comes to accepting returns, even if you are talking about food. Most of their food items (apart from baby formula, tobacco, beer, wine, and alcohol) are covered by their 30-day return window, provided you have proof of purchase and the package has not been opened.
You can use two kinds of receipts as proof of purchase (paper or digital), which will allow you to get your money refunded to the same payment method that you used to purchase.
If not, then you will receive a cash refund for returns of less than $10, or a Kroger Co. Family of Stores Merchandise Gift Card for returns of over $10.
Kroger won’t give refunds for items that were purchased with WIC, but you can get an exchange for the exact same item. Of course, if the food has been opened then you are very unlikely to get any kind of refund or exchange at all.
Does Kroger Refund Recalled Food?
If any items become recalled, then that means that the company has concerns over the safety or the quality of that item, so you should not consume any food that has been recalled.
Any recalled food items that were purchased from Kroger should be returned as soon as possible, and they offer a full refund – whether it has been opened and used or not.
Some reasons for recall are more concerning than others, but they should all be taken seriously. Also, it is worth getting a full refund and a safer/higher-quality alternative if it is on offer.
A few of the reasons why a product might be recalled include:
- Incorrect labeling
- Possible contamination
- Potential choking hazard
- Undeclared allergens
- Improper quantity
- Potential defects
- Not meeting quality standards
You can find the full list of products that Kroger has currently issued a recall for on their website.
What If I Already Ate Recalled Food?
Unfortunately, you might not get the information in time, so what should you do if you have already eaten some food that has been recalled? Well, it depends on what the recall is for but it is always better to be safe than sorry.
First, you should find out exactly why the recall was issued to understand the risks. You can do this by visiting the Kroger Recall Alerts page and/or the FDA’s Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts page. Here, you can search for the product that was recalled and read exactly why it happened.
If there is any chance that consuming the product could cause harm to you and you have already eaten it, then you should contact your primary care physician before you do anything else.
Explain the situation to them, including the information provided on the recall alert, and they will be able to help you.
On these alerts, you will also find contact information for the company that is responsible for the alert so that you can get in touch with them later with any questions or concerns you might have.
Once your health concerns have been addressed, then you can contact Kroger for your refund.
Summary
So, what is the Kroger expired food policy? Kroger labels their food with either a “Best If Used By” date that tells you when the item will no longer be fresh (but may still be edible) or a “Use By” date that tells you when the product is likely to be unsafe to eat.
It is illegal to sell expired food, and food that passes the “Use By” date should be thrown away. However, a lot of the unsold food that is safe to eat at Kroger gets donated to communities in need via the nonprofit organization Feeding America.
Reference Sources
https://www.kroger.com/blog/food/how-labels-can-fight-food-waste