Coles customer sparks debate over 25-cent sale item: 'I'd never buy it'

A Coles customer has divided the internet after picking up 500-gram packs of Chicken mince for 25 cents each, marked down from the usual price of $7.

Sharing the find on Facebook, the shopper declared it was a case of "right place right time" after picking up nine packs of the quick-sale mince for $2.25, saving over $60.

While some congratulated the woman on the "awesome find" other shoppers weren't so sure it was such a good deal. Several cautioned her on eating the mince, warning her to be careful when consuming heavily discounted food close to the best-before date.

Each pack had an expiry date of the following day, prompting several people to say they'd had bad experiences after making similar purchases. "I've bought from the two major supermarkets with at least three days to go before 'best before' and it has smelled funky," one shopper commented.

Another shopper she'd become "really ill" from eating reduced-price chicken. "Yep, I'll never buy reduced pork ever again and will never buy reduced chicken," added another.

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The Coles customer said she'd always been able to use marked-down meat without any problems, but would exercise caution. "I've never had an issue with it. It's all in the freezer now but if it smells even remotely odd the first time I use some then I'll throw the lot," she wrote. Some fellow bargain hunters also said they'd "never had an issue" with heavily discounted meat.

Safe to eat?

Food Standards Australia and New Zealand provide a national standard across all products regarding the use-by and best-before date, which is followed by supermarkets such as Coles and Woolworths. "Foods that must be eaten before a certain time for health or safety reasons should be marked with a use-by date," FSANZ states on their website. "Foods should not be eaten after the use-by date and can't legally be sold after this date because they may pose a health or safety risk."

The national standard also states that foods with a best-before date can be consumed and legally sold after the date. "You can still eat foods for a while after the best-before date as they should be safe but they may have lost some quality. Foods that have a best-before date can legally be sold after that date provided the food is fit for human consumption," the website says.

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