Wal-Mart to stop food donation

[Kadie]

Wal-Mart to stop food donation
Change made to protect retailer from liability for food poisoning


By MERRILL BALASSONE
BEE STAFF WRITER
and TODD MILBOURN
THE SACRAMENTO BEE


Last Updated: January 6, 2006, 04:17:55 AM PST


Directors of local charities reacted with surprise and disappointment Thursday after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced it would no longer donate food near or past its expiration date to groups feeding the hungry.

A spokesman for the nation's largest food retailer said the food will be thrown away to protect the corporation from liability in case someone becomes sick from the donated food. The policy will apply to all 1,224 Wal-Marts, 1,929 Wal-Mart Supercenters and 558 Sam's Clubs.

"We can't guarantee the safety of the merchandise, and consumer safety is our top priority," said spokesman Olan James, in a phone interview from Wal-Mart headquarters in Arkansas.

James said he is not aware of anybody suing Wal-Mart after getting sick from donated food.

Charities that received food from Wal-Mart are encouraged to apply for grants from the Wal-Mart Foundation, although the foundation won't increase the amount of money it gives out. The foundation distributed $170 million in 2004.

more...
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/11658425p-12387355c.html

[Ian David]

1. So what? Are they going to say "Merry Chirstmas" or "Happy Holidays?"

That's what The Christian Right really cares about.

[madeline_con]

27. We can't lose sight of what's important! n/t

[mom cat]

2. Same old s**t. The cheap bastards.

[Ilsa]

3. Food "Near" the expiration date can only be sold, not donated.

At least, that's my experience from years ago with WalMart. Seemed like everything was near or past its expiration date when I shopped there.

[jedr]

4. So now they will throw it in the dumpster;

and the dumpster divers will get it.....I guess this all makes sense somehow, or is it just me?:crazy:

[madeline_con]

10. Someone could eat pretty well by frequenting the dumpsters.

Seriously, if they knew when to get there, before pick-up, a lot of poor people could keep there pantries stocked.

Can't some group(s) pick up the stuff and distribute it as a type of community service/protest to the waste? :shrug:

[SoCalDem]

14. When I worked at a grocery store, things were opened and the food tossed

in UNWRAPPED ..to prevent dumpster diving.. and dumpsters sometimes have locks on them now or are kept in a locked enclosure.

[jedr]

17. by law;

expiration dates are only inventory control references by the manufactures, also note the post below. Food banks are given a lot of leeway on this and are only held to holding the products in a clean and refrigerated ( if required) storage. Don't really understand what Wal*Mart's bitch is , but it will hurt some people in need.

[madeline_con]

20. Yep. Also, read post #16. n/t

[Ian David]

5. The Good Samaritan Food Donation Act of 1996

<snip>

"Ernie Brown, a spokesman for Sacramento's Senior Gleaner- said Wal-Mart's concerns about liability seem misplaced in light of the Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, a federal law passed in 1996 offering food donors wide-ranging protections from civil lawsuits or criminal prosecution. The law states that donors can be held liable only in instances of "gross negligence."

More:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/01/06.html#a6599

[xxqqqzme]

6. guess they don't pay their attorneys

very well either or else they would know about the Good Samaritan Act.

[sandnsea]

8. Thank you

I was pretty sure I remembered legislation on this issue. Do you suppose they think they're going to bully the progressive community into getting off their ass by taking away food for the poor??

[madeline_con]

11. Emails en masse seem to be the order of the day.

Who's with me? :bounce:

[Cobalt Violet]

7. I always bring a few lawyers with me when I go get food at the pantry.

:sarcasm:

[sandnsea]

9. Yeah, and don't know anything about rotten food either

Having never gotten a solitary item of rotten food from a grocery store ever in my life. :eyes:

[madeline_con]

12. True dat. n/t

[jedr]

23. You can thank a democrat for that, not the free market n/t

[sandnsea]

25. For rotten food in the store??

I do thank Democrats for meat inspectors, etc. But that doesn't mean that rotten food doesn't get through, I get something rotten once a year or so. Guess what, gasp, I don't eat it!! Just like I wouldn't eat something rotten from a food pantry or anywhere else. That's all.

[SoCalDem]

13. All they need is a signed waiver from the organization and the

organization gets one from their clients....

It does require bookkeeping and records, so they are too cheap to keep doing this. It's easier to throw it away and just claim spoilage.

[madeline_con]

15. This is bullshit.

I will not believe it unless I see literally tons of food in Walmart dumpsters.

When I lived overseas, MOST of the food in the ARAMCO commisaries was expired stuff, at least the American brand names.

Unless I see it, I say they're just packing it up to sell elsewhere.

They could just as easily give it away, like they should, and never lose a penny of profit!

[sandnsea]

18. Oh fuck yes, they ARE

Oh god, what's the name of this damned little market up the street. It's a brand new wholesale food market chain, no union, no benefits. That's what it is, like Ross only food. That's what those sons a bitches are doing, selling it to that food chain. Oh I hate not having hormones, I can't remember the name, but they're new and all over the place. Somebody help me out.

The fucking bastard asshole cocksuckers!! :grr:

[madeline_con]

22. I shop at Sav-A-Lot a lot. LOL!

I don't know what's springing up in your area, but it's the place to go for less expensive food and way better meats than the local Wally World.

Also, the whole experience of going to Wally World turns me off. It's always standing full of idiots with their carts in the middle of the aisle talking on cell phones while their kids destroy a bunch of stuff right in front of them.

I drive past it to go to a store that's just groceries so I can go home sane. :nuke:

[sandnsea]

24. I go to Safeway

I cannot remember the name but it's a grocery outlet store and I was reading a few months ago that they're expanding. If Walmart is going to sell them their near expiration food, then that would give them a steady supply. I don't shop at this local one because it's non-union and I suspected it was food that would go to the food bank if people's incomes weren't declining creating a bigger demand. I went in a few times when it first opened and I can get stuff on sale for the same price. It's actually a pain in the butt because you never know what they're going to have in the store anyway. Oh, and I live in a retirement town so I only have to deal with old ladies who can't reach the top shelf!!

[madeline_con]

26. Big Lots, Odd Lots or Dollar General? n/t

[madeline_con]

16. This is bull! I do NOT believe they're dumping it...

When I lived overseas, MOST of the food in the ARAMCO commissaries was expired, at least the American name brands.

Unless I see literally tons of food in their dumpsters, I don't believe a word of it. I think they're just packing it up to sell elsewhere.

The cheap bastards should give it away. How many poor people can afford to sue, anyway? :sarcasm:

[jedr]

21. Great point !!!!!

[Nikia]

19. It depends on the product

As to whether this is really even an issue or not. There is no reason that most "non perishables" could not be donated. Even those these products do have dates and are not good forever, the expiration date is a best by date not a spoilage date. It is a date at which the consumer doesn't have grounds to complain about the quality of the food. Some cold cereal might taste a little stale a week after the expiration date, but no one is going to get sick from it.
I work for a company that uses newly expired cheese for ingredient for processed cheese. The grocery stores sell the expired cheese to a company which distibutes it to companies that could use it as ingredient. Walmart is probably doing this with their cheese. Who knows what else they can sell back?