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Where Does Expired Jerky Go?

Today I was looking at various jerky packages at a store shelf in my local grocery store. I noticed some packages on the lowest shelf and rummaged through them. There were a couple of packages of Hickory Farms brand jerky.

I looked at the expiration date, something I do everytime I buy jerky at the store. It had expired in January 2009. And this was August 2009!

The grocery store didn’t discount the price, or move the product to a clearance rack.

So what happens when grocery stores find themselves with expired bags of jerky? Do they just continue selling it?

The answer seems to be that some stores continue selling it. Jerky is one of those things that few people check the expiration date on. At the other end of the spectrum, folks always check the expiration date on dairy products. That’s because we’ve been trained to know that dairy products have a short shelf-life. But jerky? Well, the whole point of jerky is that it can sit on the shelf and remain edible for a very long time, and that’s why consumers don’t typically consider the expiration date.

But other stores sell them off to brokers who in turn sell them to salvage grocers.

The Associated Press ran an article today about “salvage grocers“, these are grocery stores who buy up food products that can’t otherwise be sold in regular grocery stores. These could expired products, damaged products, or products that had been opened…

Buffalo ribs that can be as expensive as $9 per pound at a traditional supermarket, sell for $2.99 a pound at the Friday Store. Deals like these come around when wholesalers order more than they can sell through traditional channels. But the food is always edible, Palumbo said.

Barbecue sauces, beef jerky, fruit drinks and chips can be purchased for 75 percent less than at mainstream stores.

If you’re talking about Oberto jerky, or Jack Link’s jerky, or whatever is cheap and convenient, perhaps saving 75% off the regular price is not a bad deal, if all you want is something to chew on.

So what do you think? Would you be willing to spend $1.00 for a bag of expired jerky, that would have otherwise cost $4.00 fresh?

Tags: beef jerky, free shipping, jeds beef jerky, jeds jerky, jerkey, jerky
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