What Do Supermarkets Do With Unsold Food?

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(Newswire.net — April 24, 2023) — Have you ever wondered what happens to excess food that doesn’t sell at the store? Or expired food that needs to be removed from the shelves? There are several paths for food that are removed from grocery store shelves, and what happens to the food will depend on a variety of circumstances.

If you are interested in learning about what happens to food from specific stores, for example, stores that are local to you, you may want to do some research and also keep an eye on supermarket news in your area. Here are some general options for supermarkets may do with unsold food:

Donate to Charity

As many people would hope, some unsold food from supermarkets is donated to charities like food banks. While there are some restrictions when it comes to what foods can be donated (based on food safety regulations), there are some items that can be donated.

For example, grocery stores may donate day-old bread and pastries, dented cans and boxes, and damaged (but not spoiled) produce. Grocery stores may also donate food that is very close to expiring. If foods at the grocery store were purchased in excess and did not sell, those extra products may also be donated.

Given to Farms and Zoos

Some products that are not donated to charities may be sent to zoos or farms or sold very cheaply to farmers to feed their livestock. Some examples of items that may be sent to feed animals include produce that is not saleable (for example, the product may be damaged).

In addition, grocery stores may donate or sell bread and dairy products to zoos or farms to feed animals. Both of these options demonstrate the donation of food from grocery stores to causes that find the food extremely useful and will make good use of the food.

Trash or Compost

For produce that starts to go bad and cannot be safely donated, some supermarkets put it in a separate dumpster to compost, and this dumpster is periodically emptied and transported to a compost facility. Otherwise, damaged, spoiled, or expired foods, or even just excess foods, are thrown in the trash.   

Some grocery stores have noticed people dumpster diving for foods that have recently been thrown out in the hopes of salvaging food products that are still in good enough shape to eat. While some stores do look the other way, and people continue to dumpster dive and save some of these foods, other grocery stores have started locking or otherwise securing their dumpsters to avoid any liability that may come with dumpster diving.

While these three options are the most common for what happens to excess, damaged, or expired food, there are other possible options for what happens to unsold foods, like selling to discount retailers and giving products to employees for free or a great discount. If you are interested in what your local grocery store does with its unsold food, you can call them directly.