A Target shopper who bought expired Primal Kitchen salad dressing from the store is now warning against shopping for groceries there.
Target has become a one-stop shopping destination, allowing buyers to stock up on everything from socks to batteries to fresh produce.
But this woman said she’ll no longer be picking up items from their grocery section after a couple of bad experiences.
Salad dressing horror story
In a viral video with more than 105,000 views, Target customer Amanda (@amandafndzz) explained that she had just whipped herself up a salad and grabbed the Primal Kitchen cilantro lime dressing she had bought from Target a few days ago.
But the dressing wouldn’t come out of the bottle, she said. She added that she tried shaking it and eventually had to puncture it with a spoon. When it did finally come out, she said it was both chunky and watery (gag).
“I’m gonna have to throw it in the trash now,” Amanda said about the salad.
Confused, Amanda said she checked the expiration date only to find that Target had sold her a bottle that had expired five months before.
“Unfortunately, this is not the first time this happened to me and Target. Earlier this year I bought some smart sweets from them that were expired from the previous year,” Amanda said.
She added that she was going to return the dressing for a refund.
“Moral of the story, on top of the rising cost of groceries and just the disgusting inflation we deal with, we have big corporations like Target selling us expired food. It’s not an honest mistake,” Amanda said. “Our retailers are doing us dirty.”
@amandafndzz @target DO BETTER #target #groceryhaul #targethaul #fyp #disgusting ♬ original sound – Amanda 🤍
Can you sue a store for selling expired food?
It’s not that easy to sue a grocery store just for selling expired food. You’d have a better chance under the law if the grocery store sold you expired food that then caused you to get sick, Shouse Law explained.
In that case, the grocery store could be held accountable for any injuries and costs associated with consuming the expired goods.
If you notice afterward that an item is expired, you’re eligible for a refund. If the store refuses to give you one, then you can file a lawsuit for the amount in small claims court.
The thing about expiration dates
The expiration date on an item is the last day the manufacturer considers a food to be safe to eat or at peak quality. But the thing is, expiration dates are not federally regulated (except for infant formula).
Here’s a quick label guide, according to Consumer Reports:
- Best If Used By/Before: This is when the item will taste its best, but it doesn’t indicate how safe an item is to eat (like how after a certain date, chips may still be safe to eat but may lose their crunch).
- Sell By: Manufacturers add this to communicate to retailers when to remove a product from shelves so that customers have access to food at its best quality. This tends to be common with items like milk that require refrigeration.
- Use By: This is the last day the manufacturer guarantees an item will be at peak quality.
Commenters react
“I’ve been noticing expired items being sold everywhere… Target, gas stations, Safeway etc. I now check the date on everyyyyything bc I am paranoid! Just one more thing to worry about w/our food smh,” the top comment read.
“I work at a grocery store and I swear we have people checking codes constantly. Suppliers send items that expire within weeks and don’t care when we tell them about it. It’s an everyone issue,” a worker explained.
“This happened to me at Sprouts. Half my haul was expired,” a person said.
The Daily Dot reached out to Amanda for comment via TikTok direct message and comment and to Target via email.
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