Section 11.14 All Areas: Date Marking of Food / Code Checking Procedure.

The Food Standards Code has date codes defined as:
“Use By” Date – is the last date the food (if stored in accordance with any manufacturer’s stated storage conditions, in its original intact package) can be consumed safely. After this date the food should not be consumed because of Health & Safety reasons.

In all situations, the food acts in each state require that foods are not permitted to be sold after the end of their Use-By date, i.e. it is ILLEGAL.

“Best Before” Date – is the last date the food (if stored in accordance with recommended storage conditions, in its original intact package) is expected to keep its specific qualities. After this date the manufacturer implies that the food is not marketable. Drakes Policy is not to sell any foods after their “Best Before” date.

Staff should be aware that it is not illegal to sell goods beyond their “Best Before” date but consumer expectations and Metcash Standards require that stores avoid this practice as the store automatically takes the legal responsibility for any food safety issue after this date. This also applies to bargain bins.

Drakes Supermarkets policy for all fresh departments the “best before date” is to be treated the same as the “use by” date.

No Date Code – Food Acts in each state require that all packaged foods are not permitted to be sold without a legible date code of at least 3mm in height, i.e. it is ILLEGAL to sell any packaged foods without a date code.

Date marking of food under the Food Standards Code applies to all PRE-PACKED foods with a shelf-life of under two (2) years. Some exemptions apply, these are listed below.

There are 2 categories of date marking of in-store pre-packed foods & a third (exemptions) category:

CATEGORY 1: Short shelf-life food – less than 7 days.

Use By (date) and Date Of Packing or Packed On Date

If any of the above packed on dates are used, this must also have accompanying it … “Minimum Durable Life (then here insert no. of days, weeks or months) except for breads.

Conditions for storage must also be included, i.e: refrigerate or freeze (if required)

Breads have specific legislation for use of “Best-Before” for very short life food.

Breads may be labelled:
“baked on” [the date on which it is baked],
“baked for” [the date not later than 12 hours after time baked]
If “baked on” or “baked for” date used only. Must have also “Minimum Durable Life (# days, weeks or months)

CATEGORY 2: Longer shelf-life food – between 7 days and 2 years.

Use By (Date) or
Best before (Date)

A statement of storage conditions to achieve a certain shelf life must be printed on the label, i.e. frozen foods must be labeled with “Frozen Thawed for your convenience”

The following considerations must be made when determining whether a “Use By” or “Best Before” label is applied: • Is the food intended to Form the sole source of nutrition in a person’s diet for a specified period?

  • Is the food shelf stable or stored frozen?
  • Does the food contain raw ingredients that require cooking to ensure the safety of the product?
  • Is the food a ready-to-eat chilled product?
  • Is there any likelihood that the food can contain any food poisoning bacteria?
  • Will the food support the growth of any food poisoning bacteria?
  • Will the food discernibly spoil before the levels of bacteria reach dangerous levels

CATEGORY 3: Food Packages Exempt from Date Coding (but still require a manufacturer’s batch code):

  • All unpackaged foods
  • All foods & beverages (including alcoholic beverages) of greater than 2 years shelf life.
  • Meat products in unprinted edible casings not further packed.
  • Fresh packed sandwiches and filled bread rolls for sale on the day of preparation
  • Ice cream and ice confections sold in units less than in 200ml volume.
  • Carbonated soft drinks with a pressure of greater than 70 kpa.at 20oC.
  • Food in packs where sum of the maximum circumference or perimeter is too small for labels (sum <250mm).

The objective of this procedure is to have clear guidelines to follow when rotating stock, code checking and marking down stock within each department of the supermarket.

Code Checking Procedure – All departments.

General Guidelines for all products

All foods have a limited shelf life, whether the product is a grocery shelf-stable product, including canned and packet foods and all perishable and frozen products.

All these products have a use by date or a best before date, which enables us to make sure we sell products that are fresh and fit for human consumption.

Stock rotation is probably the most important tool we can use to minimise the risk of selling products that are out of date. Stock rotation is a way of mitigating stock losses. It is the practice used throughout Drakes Supermarkets by means of moving products with an earlier use by or best before date to the front of the shelf, including perishable and frozen. This also includes stock that is stored in the cool rooms. All the new stock is placed behind the older stock so that this stock is used first. This enables the products on the shelf with the earlier use by date to be picked up and sold first and the stock with a later use by date is moved to the back.

When a product reaches its use by date, it will have to be dumped and recorded as wastage. Therefore, it is imperative that use by and best before dates are strictly adhered to and that products which will perish earlier be sold as quickly as possible.

If stock is nearing its use by date, it must be reduced in price to be more appealing to the customer for a quick sale. Marked down items MUST be checked by ALL departments every morning prior to the store opening.
Every time the stores receive a delivery, the same procedure is required when putting stock on the shelves. The older use by dates are moved to the front and the new dates are put to the back of the shelves.

We believe excellent stock rotation is essential to maintaining a positive public image within Drakes Supermarkets so that our customers can shop with confidence, without the fear of buying products that are out of date.

All stock must be code checked before being placed on the shelf to ensure all stock that goes on display is properly rotated. As already mentioned, all the new stock delivered is put behind the older stock so that the old stock is purchased first.

Any out of date stock must be stored in a quarantined area to avoid being accidentally placed on the shop floor.

Dry Grocery/Frozen Products

Detailed instruction:
Use by and best before dates will be treated the same. Seven (7) days prior to the best before or use by date, the product must be marked down.

RF Unit Code Check for Grocery/Frozen Products

Use the Grocery/Frozen Products Code Checking Schedule to determine which products are to be code checked for the current. On the RF unit, use the Stocktake Menu to create a new stocktake. Give it the name of the section you are checking, for example “Low Code Confectionery”. Check each item in the confectionery section and scan the product, keying in the use by/best before date as the “quantity”.

In Shop Ezi, select “Inventory” and click on “Stocktake”. Then highlight “Low Code Confectionery” and double click on it. Select “View Input and use the “Sort by” drop down window to select “Ex Qty”. Click “Preview” and then select the “print” function.

Products found with 7 days or less shelf life are to be marked down. Markdown amounts need to be controlled by the dedicated person, as directed by the Store Manager/Store Assistant Store Manager. If there are only a few items, reduce the price by 25 – 30%. If there is a large amount of product or it is a slow-moving line, reduce the price by 40 – 50%.

All these items will need to be checked each day to ensure that they are either sold or removed from the shelf by their use by or best before dates.

It is recommended that Management allow for the checking of ALL dry foods displays to ensure that out-of-date stock does not become available to customers & to ensure products are marked down to be sold before the end of their shelf life.

Checks are to be carried out as per schedule (Form 10)- each month specific sections throughout the store will be checked – this runs over a 12-month period- using the Grocery Date Code Schedule – Form 10.

  • Form 10 shows what product is to be checked in each month. You must sign as verification you have completed the check.
  • Once stock has been identified as coming out of date before the next scheduled check, this must be documented on
  • Form 10A or written in a book – Grocery Date Code Product List/written in a book or printed off on the RF report.

Dairy Products

Detailed Instruction:
Use by and best before dates will be treated the same. Three (3) days prior to the best before or use by date, the product must be marked down.

In the Dairy department EITHER of the following procedures are to be followed-

1. RF Unit Code Check

Use the Dairy Products Code Checking Schedule to determine which products are to be code checked for the current week. Onthe RF unit, use the Stocktake Menu to create a new stocktake. Give it the name “Low Code Dairy”. Check each item in the dairy section and scan the product, keying in the use by/best before date as the “quantity”.

In Shop Ezi, select “Inventory” and click on “Stocktake”. Then highlight “Low Code Dairy” and double click on it. Select “View Input and use the “Sort by” drop down window to select “Ex Qty”. Click “Preview” and then select the “print” function.

Products found with 3 days or less shelf life are to be marked down. Markdown amounts need to be controlled by the dedicated person, as directed by the Store Manager/Assistant Store Manager. If there are only a few items, reduce the price by 25 – 30%. If there is a large amount of product or it is a slow moving line, reduce the price by 40 – 50%.

All these items will need to be checked each day to ensure that they are either sold or removed from the shelf by their use by or best before dates.

2. Weekly Code and Rotation Check Procedure (Non RF)

The below routine is to be conducted a minimum of 3 times weekly on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday removing any products from display that expire 3 days from the date that the code check is completed.

For example, if today was Monday and the date was 1st December, then any product dated the 4th December or below is to be removed and actioned in accordance to the expired / damaged goods processing procedure.

Every product on display for sale must be checked, including stock at the back of the display and any stock rotation issues must be resolved during this process.

Guidelines for completing the procedure are below:

  • Devise a routine where you can work from left to right through the department ensuring that all sections are covered. For example, you may start with milk, then yogurts, then juices, then butter, depending on the layout of the department.
  • Acquire a trolley to place any damaged or low coded goods that you identify in your checks and begin the next step in the first section you are going to check.
  • Move through each section with a trolley and work to the routine of starting with the top shelf, left hand side of the section working to the right of that shelf checking all products for rotation and removing any products dated 3 days from the current date and placing them in the accompanied trolley you should have with you.

**If you are completing the code check leading in to a long weekend or on a short week, the days removed will be different from the nominated 3 from the current date.

Once the top shelf is completed of that section, move down to the next shelf this time starting from the right hand side of the section, working towards the left of that shelf and check and action the same criteria you checked the top shelf for (rotation, damaged stock, expiration dates).

Continue to move in a zig zag through the remaining shelves of this section as outlined above before moving to the next section. Any low coded or damaged stock will now be building up in the trolley as you identify and remove it from show.

NOTE: Stock is not to be kept out of refrigeration for long periods of time. If you have completed a section and the stock has been out of refrigeration in the collection trolley for a period of time, then it will need to be placed into the cool room.

Once the entire department has been checked, the products removed now need to be processed using the expired / damaged goods processing procedure. This step can be conducted either after the completion of the entire code check or at the completion of each section, depending on what is best suitable for the store.

Dairy/ Frozen Code Check Sheet – Form 04

This form is broken down into daily, weekly and fortnightly sections to be signed off and dated at the end of each week by the Department Manager and the Store Manager along with any relevant comments.

Service Deli Detailed Instruction:

This procedure applies to all products in cheese bars, grocery ends, freezers, ready to eat meals and products on top of deli cases. Any product with a use by /best before date and barcode must be checked.

Each product needs to be checked on a scheduled day – Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday each week.

Each store is to select a day that suits their store. This must be the same day each week, all year round. It is not permitted to complete a major routine check on Thursday to Sunday.

Each week, check all stock and any product with less than 8 days before the use by/best before date needs to be marked down. For example, the Code Check is completed on Monday, therefore all stock with the following Tuesday’s date needs to be marked down.

Markdown amounts need to be controlled by the Service Deli Department Manager. If there are only a few items, reduce the price by 25%. If there is a large amount of product or it is a slow moving line, reduce the price by 50%.

When checking dates, staff need to check if there is a large amount of a particular product which will be out of date in the following week. If so, put the product on an in-store promotion, with a special flag to move the stock as quickly as possible and reduce the loss of gross profit.

On the RF unit, use the Stocktake Menu to create a new stocktake. Give it the name “Low Code Deli”. Check each item in the section and scan the product, keying in the use by/best before date as the “quantity”.
In Shop Ezi, select “Inventory” and click on “Stocktake”. Then highlight “Low Code Deli” and double click on it. Select “View Input and use the “Sort by” drop down window to select “Ex Qty”. Click “Preview” and then select the “print” function.

All these items will need to be checked each day to ensure that they are either sold or removed from the shelf by their use by or best before dates

Each day of the week, staff need to check the “Low Code Deli” sheet and remove stock from show on the recorded day. All best before dates need to be treated as use by dates:

Check the best before and use by dates of all products coming into the store:

  • Brie & camemberts should have 21 days or more
  • Pate should have 21 days or more
  • All fruit cheeses, hard cheeses, fettas etc should have 30 days or more.

If stock comes in with less than the above dates, call the Deli Supervisor.

Constantly review your range of products. If you are frequently reducing a particular product, contact the Service Deli Supervisor as the product may need to be deleted from your range.

Meat

Detailed Instruction:

Pet Food/Freezer/Small Goods

On Monday each week all products with a use by or best before date of 10 days or more need to be recorded. On the RF unit, use the Stocktake Menu to create a new stocktake. Give it the name “Low Code Meat”. Check each item in the section and scan the product, keying in the use by/best before date as the “quantity”.

In Shop Ezi, select “Inventory” and click on “Stocktake”. Then highlight “Low Code Meat” and double click on it. Select “View Input and use the “Sort by” drop down window to select “Ex Qty”. Click “Preview” and then select the “print” function.

All these items will need to be checked each day to ensure that they are either sold or removed from the shelf on their use by or best before dates.

Meat Case

At the commencement of each trading day, the meat cabinet must have a thorough code check performed (as per the Drakes Code Checking Procedure). Meat markdowns must be completed by 8:00am – 8:30am every day.

  • 1 day prior to best-before – in the morning, markdown the product by 20% from the original price.
  • 1 day prior to best-before – in the afternoon, on the same day, markdown the product by 40% from the original price.
  • Day of best-before – in the morning prior to the store opening, remove the product from shelf, it can no longer be sold.

The following table can be used as an example with a product that has a best-before date of the 11th, selling at $5.45:

  1 day prior (AM) 1 day prior (PM) Day of best-before (AM)Before the store opens
Date Morning of the 10th Afternoon of the 10th 11th
Markdowns 20% discount off original sell price 40% discount off original sell price Remove product from shelf. Do not sell.
Example original sell $5.45 $4.36 $3.27  

Fruit and Vegetables

Detailed Instruction:

Displayed stock is rotated and audited consistently throughout trading to ensure its saleability. All fruit and veg that is below standard is discounted or weighed and recorded via ezi scale.

Any pre-packed stock with a use by or best before date is stored in the refrigerated display and monitored daily to ensure damaged or out-of-date stock is removed from sale.

  • 2 days prior to best-before – in the morning, quantity of stock on hand must be assessed and if amount doesn’t suit store trade, markdown the product by up to 30% from the original price.
  • 1 day prior to best-before – in the morning, markdown the product by 50% from the original price
  • 1 day prior to best-before – in the afternoon, assess quantity of stock on hand versus store trade and apply further markdown should it not be sold out
  • Day of best-before – in the morning prior to the store opening, remove the product from shelf, it can no longer be sold.

On the RF unit, use the Stocktake Menu to create a new stocktake. Give it the name “Low Code Fruit & Veg”. Check each item in the section and scan the product, keying in the use by/best before date as the “quantity”.

In Shop Ezi, select “Inventory” and click on “Stocktake”. Then highlight “Low Code Fruit & Veg” and double click on it. Select “View Input and use the “Sort by” drop down window to select “Ex Qty”. Click “Preview” and then select the “print” function.

All these items will need to be checked each day to ensure that they are either sold or removed from the shelf by their use by or best before dates.

Each day of the week, staff need to check the “Low Code Fruit & Veg” sheet and remove stock from show on the recorded day.

Products with a use by / best before date must not be on show on that date. All best before dates need to be treated as use by dates.

Bakery

Detailed Instruction:

Breads

Any bread, rolls, cheese twist etc. made on site – Made one day then marked down the following day, EG. If made on the 27th of November, these products are to be reduced for sale either late on the 27th or the first thing on the following day the 28th. The marked down products should be displayed on an off-location area and should be removed from sale by 7pm that day. That means taken off the fixture for sale, recorded as further shrinkage and then dumped.

Cakes/ Biscuits

Any cakes, biscuits should be marked down 2 days prior to use by date or best before date (fresh dept use by and best before dates are considered to be the same thing) and cannot be offered for sale of that date. EG if the use by or best before date is the 27th of November, nothing should be on show with that date.

Date code Checks / Recording

On the RF unit, use the Stocktake Menu to create a new stocktake. Give it the name “Low Code Bakery”. Check each item in the section and scan the product, keying in the use by/best before date as the “quantity”.
In Shop Ezi, select “Inventory” and click on “Stocktake”. Then highlight “Low Code Bakery” and double click on it. Select “View Input and use the “Sort by” drop down window to select “Ex Qty”. Click “Preview” and then select the “print” function.

All these items will need to be checked each day to ensure that they are either sold or removed from the shelf on their use by or best before dates.

Each day of the week, staff need to check the “Low Code Bakery” sheet and remove stock from show on the recorded day. The following table can be used as an example with a product that has a best-before date of the 11th.

  1 day prior (AM) 1 day prior (PM) Day of best-before (AM)
Date Morning of the 10th Afternoon of the 10th 11th
Markdowns 30% discount off original sell price 50% discount off original sell price Remove product from shelf. Do not sell.

Loose rolls/cakes will be bagged up and marked down in the evening or early morning and taken off show the following morning before trade and dumped. For example, a bag of loose rolls that have been marked down on the morning of 15th and has not sold will be taken off show on the 16th before the store opens and dumped.

Use by bakery products will be treated the same as best before products.

Bakery products will be marked down initially by 30%, and the next day may be reduced by 50%, if required.

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