The UK supermarket with the shortest ‘use-by’ dates for fresh food revealed – and it’s one of the priciest

THE UK supermarket with the shortest “use-by-dates” for fresh food has been revealed – and it’s one of the priciest too. Shoppers doing their online food shop at Waitrose are getting some of the shortest-lived fresh food of any major supermarket, a new investigation has revealed. Two packs of Waitrose beef mince arrived with a use-by date the day after delivery. An opened pot of pineapple from Morrisons that had leaked over other groceries. Consumer champion Which? found the upmarket grocer dishes up perishables with an average shelf life of just 7.7 days – the worst of all six supermarkets tested. Asda, on the other hand, came out on top for freshness, with shoppers getting a whopping 11 days on average before their food hits its use-by date. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! Which? enlisted 12 mystery shoppers to place identical online orders for 29 fresh and perishable items, including mince, bread, pasta sauce and houmous – from Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose. Over two weeks, the shoppers checked more than 2,000 items, working out exactly how many hours were left until midnight on the use-by date the moment their shopping landed on the doorstep. Two packs of beef mince and a pack of chicken thighs from Waitrose turned up with a use-by date of the very next day. The posh supermarket also flopped on scones, bread, fresh pasta sauce, tagliatelle, houmous and pork sausages – all coming in with less time on the clock than rivals. Tesco wasn’t much better, clocking up an average shelf life of just 8.8 days. One shopper’s fresh pasta sauce and pork sausages both arrived with 3.4 days left – way off the week Tesco promises on its own sauce, and the five days it says customers should get on sausages. Most read in Money Sainsbury’s landed an average of 10.2 days, but it also had some slip-ups. Three items – some sweetcorn and two packs of basil – had a best-before date of the same day they arrived. Meanwhile, a pack of chicken thighs had to be used the day after delivery. It wasn’t all doom and gloom, though. Ocado impressed with some long-lasting goodies, including two packs of honey roast ham boasting more than 20 days’ life – way above the 13.13-day average across the board. But on Ocado customer did receive some basil that had turned black and wilted despite still being “in date”. Morrisons also did well overall – bar one substituted raspberry trifle that arrived with under four hours to live. Another shopper picked up a pot of houmous from Morrisons with 24.38 days left. This is compared to just 3.88 days for the same product at Waitrose and the 11.54-day average. One Morrisons order also came a cropper when an opened pot of pineapple leaked all over the rest of the shopping. Asda swept the board for freshest groceries overall. Five shoppers received beef mince with at least 18 days left on the clock, while a pack of cod turned up with a full week to spare. It wasn’t just use-by dates causing gripes – shoppers across several supermarkets complained about pre-cut carrots described as “slimy”, “wet” and even “manky”. With household budgets already stretched to breaking point, getting short-dated food can mean shoppers are having to chuck away groceries they’ve already paid good money for. Which? found that 16% of shoppers who’d had a bad experience with an online delivery said receiving perishables with barely any shelf life left was their number one bugbear. Reena Sewraz, Which? retail editor, said: “When you pay for a supermarket delivery, you expect your fresh food to have a reasonable amount of time left on it. “Our investigation found a striking difference between supermarkets, with some shoppers getting several days’ less time to use their groceries than others – and in some cases, just hours.” “It’s particularly hard to swallow when you’re paying premium prices but getting food with a much shorter shelf life. “Supermarkets need to make sure their freshness promises actually deliver, so shoppers aren’t left having to change their meal plans, rush to use food or throw away groceries they’ve paid for.” Here’s how the supermarkets stacked up for average remaining shelf life: Asda – 11 days Morrisons – 10.4 days Ocado – 10.4 days Sainsbury’s – 10.2 days Tesco – 8.8 days Waitrose – 7.7 days Morrisons and Sainsbury’s did not provide a comment on the findings. An Asda spokesperson said: “Freshness matters to our customers, so it’s great to see Which? find that Asda delivers the freshest groceries overall. “We’ve worked hard to improve our online delivery service and availability, and we’re committed to making sure customers get fresh, quality produce and outstanding value, every time they shop with us.” A spokesperson for Ocado said: “We are proud of our Fresh+ promise, making us the only UK online grocery retailer to offer a life guarantee on all fresh products. “Our promise guarantees a minimum number of days of freshness on products ranging from fruit and veg to bread and milk, ensuring customers can trust Ocado to deliver the freshness they are looking for on each and every delivery. “If customers aren’t 100% happy with a product’s freshness, they can easily arrange an immediate refund online or through our app.” A Tesco spokesperson said: “We work hard to select the freshest items with the longest expiry dates for all our Grocery Home Shopping delivery and Click + Collect orders and we highlight any items that have a shorter shelf life than we would like as part of our Freshness Guarantee. “If customers are not happy with any items at the time of delivery or collection, they can hand them back for a full refund.” A Waitrose spokesperson said: “We are committed to offering the freshest and highest quality products, reflected in our growing online grocery sales. “And in response to increasing customer demand for products with simpler ingredients, we have removed preservatives from some of the items in this analysis where they are common, including our houmous. “Our online grocery pickers are trained to choose the longest dated products they can, and our most recent customer survey showed that the vast majority of our online customers rated the shelf life of our products as good or excellent.” How to get a refund on your online shop HOUSEHOLDS claim refunds if supermarket deliveries arrive with items close to their use-by date. One shopper secured a £20 refund from Asda after receiving meat and milk dated for the next day. ASDA: Offers full refunds for quality issues, including short-dated items – claim via website or by calling customer services. SAINSBURY’S: Flags short-life items on e-receipts. Shoppers can refuses delivery or request a refund online. TESCO: Highlights shorter shelf-life products on receipts before delivery; hand items back to drivers under its Freshness Guarantee. MORRISONS: Shows “life indicators” online; request refunds within two days via the app’s “My Orders” section. LIDL/ALDI: No online delivery, but in-store returns accepted with receipt. Consumer expert Martyn James said: “If it’s out of date, insist on a refund.” Comment now