Can Best By dates be trusted on meats and fish?

Do you think your local supermarket is practicing truthful Best By dates on that packaged meat, chicken, or fish? Your guess could be quite wrong!!

Investigators found that almost every supermarket they researched was in some way fiddling with the Best By dates on packaged meats and fish. What they found was quite disturbing. So the question is…. Can Best By dates be trusted?

Meats that were past their “Best By” dates were often repackaged with new “Best By” dates put on them. Sometimes the meats were rinsed off to remove slime. Other times cuts of meat that were starting to turn grey would be dipped in fresh meat blood to make them look new and fresh again.

Other stores would take old meat that was past it’s Best By date and grind it up with fresh meat to make chop meat and hamburger. This process would help to conceal the expired meat’s foul odor or color. This practice puts many consumers at risk to become sick from forborne illness such as e coli and salmonella. So we ask again…. Can Best By dates be trusted?

Another supermarket dirty secret…. Desserts. Can Best By dates be trusted on desserts? Think so?  Guess again!!  Beware desserts that are packaged in any way but their original form. Investigators discovered that expired cakes, pies, and pastries would often be cut into slices and sold as smaller portions. Mold would be scraped off, old fruit toppings would be replaced with new fruit toppings. This process would make the desserts look fresh, but that is far from the truth.

Watch the video below for full coverage.

Ever wonder if you’re actually getting what the label says on meats and fish at your local supermarket? Ever wonder if that salmon is really salmon? Visit our related story here to find out.