Why do the small packs of blueberries not have a “use by” or “packaged on” date? Nothing like paying anything up to $7 for a small pack and finding at least 20% are wrinkled or soggy. It has been especially bad since we have been getting NZ blueberries - but I found the same issue with local or interstate packs. No markings to tell you how old they are.
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I wonder if the NZ berries are actually grown in China & packed in enzed, they have different labeling laws to us l think
NZ has much the same rules as Australia about showing country of origin of food.
See Country of origin labelling | Food Standards Australia New Zealand and Country of origin of food | Commerce Commission New Zealand.
About use-by and best-before dates, Use-by and best-before dates | Food Standards Australia New Zealand says the dates “should” (not “must”) be included, which means they aren’t mandatory.
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Even if they had different labelling laws, any product sold in Australia has to meet Australian labelling laws.
In Australia, if:
whole or cut vegetables and fruit, in a package that displays the nature and the quality of the food
(sprouting seeds are excluded from this exemption)
then they are exempt from the labelling laws which require information such as best before dates, nutritional information etc. Most blueberries (small packed fruits) are contained in transparent plastic containers which allow a consumer to visually assess the quality of the fruit at purchase. These containers also have holes which allow consumers to do a smell test on the containers contents as well.
The current laws allow blueberries in a transparent container to be sold without the requirements of other packaged foods (such as processed foods or meats) as a consumer has the ability to look into the container to determine its quality before purchase. Such allows consumers to see if any of the contents are:
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As others have responded, because it is not required.
That may not make it right. Many consumer decisions are made on our behalf by government. Those invited to the discussion table include a broad range of interested parties. Separately industry and grower organisations can have ready access to lobby ministers and government.
For the average consumer the following is one place to start.
https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/food-standards-code/consultations
In checking online I see a similar conversation occurred in Oct 21. At anything up to $8 for a small pack of blueberries, I would like to know just how fresh they really are. Buying frozen blueberries now as they are apparently just as good for you and much less expensive. And giving my blueberry plant lots of loving care in the hope I can pick fresh fruit every morning when in season again.
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Not referring particularly to blueberries, I see no prospect of the industry volunteering to put picked by dates on fruit and veges and no appetite for authorities to compel it.
We already have the situation where vast amounts of F&V are wasted because it doesn’t meet the supermarket standard of beauty. The supermarkets’ speakers say that this is a consequence of the customers demanding good looking produce.
Most of us do want good looking F&V, we buy on looks. Most of us do sort through the pile to find nicer stuff. Most of us do not buy The Odd Bunch at a discount; that is a pilot scheme that has never grown much, a saving of around 20% is not enough for us. It is hard to say that the supermarkets misunderstand the market and are not giving us what we want.
The reality is that we want F&V all year round when most grows seasonally. We also complain that supermarket produce spends days or even months in storage or transport. There is no resolution to that conflict: either you eat seasonally or put up with cold storage.
What would be the outcome of putting picked by dates on F&V?
If you really think that the result would be F&V that was the same price, available all year, much fresher and no more waste than now, then I would like to hear how this would happen.
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I am speaking about Blueberries. Of course I don’t expect every apple, orange, or potato to have a date on it - bad enough having to remove the labels already there. But when I buy a pack of blueberries which look and smell fine, at a cost of between $5-$8 as they are now, I do not expect to find that those in the middle are wrinkled, squishy and even have mould on them. And I assure you that if I had been able to see that when I purchased I would not have done so. A best before date on the blueberry pack would allow me to decide if I can eat them all before then or not and if not look for a fresher pack or not waste my money.
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I’m not sure that a best-before date would be the solution. It doesn’t tell you how the berries were handled when being picked and packed, and how they’ve been handled and stored since then. Any bruising quickly turns to mould, even on fresh blueberries. So even if the best-before date is some time away, the berries could still be about to go (or already) mouldy.
It can be difficult to spot squashed / mouldy ones in spite of the transparent packs, as you’ve found.
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Its hard to see regulations being made for one product.
If it was implemented and the wastage went up due to heaps being picked over and the older ones left then the price would go up. Be careful what you wish for.
The more observant will always get the better deal regardless of date stamps.
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