Coles shoppers fuming over store selling 'expired' prawns

Would you buy these for a low, low price?

Sometimes, it doesn’t get much better than a good quick buy at Coles.

Need something to make that night’s dinner? Quick buy. After a sweet treat that you plan to devour the second you leave the store? Quick buy.

But, there’s a difference between pastries with a few days left before their best before date, and food that you’d consider questionable. And, after seeing what prices were docked on at one Coles location, people are questioning where to draw the line.

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Image: Alan Barber, Facebook.

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Ewwwww

An Aussie has taken to Facebook sharing prices on prawns at their local Coles in Logan.

In the image, you can see prices as low as $2.13/kg for Queensland Black Tiger Prawns, and Vannamei Prawns even cheaper at $1.25/kg.

Generally, goods like these would set you back $36/kg or more.

Whilst some people would be ecstatic to see the low price and would purchase the whole lot to have for dinner - and probably the next few dinners as well - the original poster wasn’t so happy, questioning how fresh these prawns could really be for such a low price.

Of course, this wouldn’t matter with some foods, but when it comes to seafood and prawns in particular, it’s not something which should be eaten past its use by date - or even if it smells or looks a little funny.

That’s not the way you’d want to get sick!

Don’t stress!

Thankfully, Coles has come to the party, assuring shoppers that anything being sold with a quick sale label is perfectly safe to eat - and is all just part of their waste minimisation scheme.

"We know our customers love good value so when a product is near it’s Best Before date we often mark it down so it can be enjoyed for a cheaper price, instead of being wasted," a Coles spokesperson told Yahoo News.

The supermarket said "food safety is paramount" and encouraged shoppers to know the difference between and always be mindful of Use By and Best Before dates - with ‘use by’ indicating the date when food must be eaten before for health or safety reasons, and ‘best before’ indicating when quality will drop, but can still be eaten after.

"[They] determine the shelf life of food products, how long food can be kept before the quality deteriorates or when the item is unsafe to eat," the spokesperson explained.

It also looks like using quick buy labels on prawns and other seafood is not uncommon at all. So, next time you see it, you better jump on the offer!

Originally published as Coles shoppers fuming over store selling 'expired' prawns