Shopping Discussion

Hidden date info on snack-food item??

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  • May 31st, 2010 12:33 am
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Deal Addict
Sep 23, 2005
1528 posts
183 upvotes
Burnaby

Hidden date info on snack-food item??

On Saturday I bought two containers of a snack product called "Squez'N'Bites" at a Zellers store in Calgary. When I got them home I decided to immediately empty out and reuse one of the containers as a disposable candy jar for the office (it's a clear plastic cannister with a bright red top that looks sort of like an apothecary type jar.) So I remove all the labels from the cannister, and lo-and-behold underneath a separate Zellers price tag is an inkjet imprint reading "06JL19 AD78". While of course I cannot be absolutely certain, the first part of that sure looks to me like a reference to July 19, 2006.

Nowhere on the product labelling is there any reference to "best before" and I have no idea what kind of shelf life would be normal for this type of product (semi-liquid gelatinous blobs individually packed in little foil-sealed cups -- one of the Zellers employees who saw me looking at them told me they're "just like Jell-O shots" except for the absence of alcohol.) The product is made in Taiwan and from what I see on the 'net it is apparently marketed in various countries around the world by various licensee/importers. The Canadian importer (as identified on the product labeling) appears to be out of business judging from the largely disfunctional state of their website, so I'm speculating maybe Zellers picked up a bunch of their inventory on the cheap.

Any thoughts on this? Would you buy this product if you could see that production imprint which appears to suggest this batch is around 4 years old? Anyone know what kind of rules/laws apply to date labeling on foods in Canada?
21 replies
Jr. Member
Jul 27, 2008
137 posts
30 upvotes
maybe the date is just be for the canister, sounds like some heavy duty packaging that could be a different production item... then again it is zellers :confused:
Deal Guru
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Oct 14, 2003
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Manufacture date of the container?
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Deal Addict
Apr 8, 2010
1307 posts
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Burlington
The first part of the code is either the date of manufacture or the expiry date, the second part is used by the company to identify where the product was made.

Is there any sort of customer service contact number on the packaging? You could call and ask them. This is the ingredients list I found on the internet, nothing really jumps out at me as indicating that the candy is readily perishable, that said any food will start to go bad eventually if you leave it sitting around for long enough.

Water, sugar, fructose, coconut chunks, locust bean gum, seaweed extract, citric acid, natural lychee flavor.
Deal Addict
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Apr 11, 2003
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Wingding wrote: On Saturday I bought two containers of a snack product called "Squez'N'Bites" at a Zellers store in Calgary. When I got them home I decided to immediately empty out and reuse one of the containers as a disposable candy jar for the office (it's a clear plastic cannister with a bright red top that looks sort of like an apothecary type jar.) So I remove all the labels from the cannister, and lo-and-behold underneath a separate Zellers price tag is an inkjet imprint reading "06JL19 AD78". While of course I cannot be absolutely certain, the first part of that sure looks to me like a reference to July 19, 2006.

Nowhere on the product labelling is there any reference to "best before" and I have no idea what kind of shelf life would be normal for this type of product (semi-liquid gelatinous blobs individually packed in little foil-sealed cups -- one of the Zellers employees who saw me looking at them told me they're "just like Jell-O shots" except for the absence of alcohol.) The product is made in Taiwan and from what I see on the 'net it is apparently marketed in various countries around the world by various licensee/importers. The Canadian importer (as identified on the product labeling) appears to be out of business judging from the largely disfunctional state of their website, so I'm speculating maybe Zellers picked up a bunch of their inventory on the cheap.

Any thoughts on this? Would you buy this product if you could see that production imprint which appears to suggest this batch is around 4 years old? Anyone know what kind of rules/laws apply to date labeling on foods in Canada?
I beleave there was a voluntary recall on these a few years ago due to kids choking on these. I would throw them out or try to return them to zellers
Deal Addict
Sep 23, 2005
1528 posts
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Burnaby
Anathem wrote: Is there any sort of customer service contact number on the packaging? You could call and ask them.
There's no phone number and the Canadian distributor looks to me to be defunct.

http://www.bondfoods.mb.ca/
Deal Addict
Sep 23, 2005
1528 posts
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Burnaby
bigphil26 wrote: I beleave there was a voluntary recall on these a few years ago due to kids choking on these. I would throw them out or try to return them to zellers
I'm not concerned about getting back what I paid for them ($3.49 a pack) and no one in my household plans on eating any of them after seeing that (apparent) date code. But I certainly am concerned that other people may unwittingly buy and consume product with no knowledge of how old it was.
Deal Fanatic
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Dec 3, 2009
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Toronto
Wingding wrote: Anyone know what kind of rules/laws apply to date labeling on foods in Canada?
Many foods dont require best before dates. Pre packaged foods with a shelf life greater than 90 days don't require a "best before" date.

If a "best before" date is required, it must be on the label.

Take note I said "best before" and not "use by" or expiration date.
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Deal Addict
Apr 8, 2010
1307 posts
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Burlington
Wingding wrote: There's no phone number and the Canadian distributor looks to me to be defunct.

http://www.bondfoods.mb.ca/
There IS a phone number at the bottom of that page, but since that website is over 11 (!) years old its hard to say where it will take you.

BOND FOODS LTD - Tel: 204 - 697 - 4040
Deal Addict
Oct 5, 2008
1283 posts
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Anathem wrote: There IS a phone number at the bottom of that page, but since that website is over 11 (!) years old its hard to say where it will take you.

BOND FOODS LTD - Tel: 204 - 697 - 4040
The number is still registered to Bond Foods and so is the website.
Sr. Member
Dec 7, 2002
532 posts
76 upvotes
if it was made in taiwan they may be using taiwan years in their internal controls, you have to add 11 to the years for everything in taiwan...so 06 could mean 17--meaning 2017 but still that's a long ways away from 2010 :)
Deal Addict
Sep 23, 2005
1528 posts
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Burnaby
JohnEnglish wrote: The number is still registered to Bond Foods and so is the website.
Did you try actually CALLING that number? I did and I got some lady who was angry that I got her out of the shower. Online phone directories have a habit of being almost hilariously out-of-date. The website registration means very little, since companies commonly take out lengthy registration renewals.
Deal Addict
Dec 28, 2006
2497 posts
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Saskatoon
Wingding wrote: reading "06JL19 AD78". While of course I cannot be absolutely certain, the first part of that sure looks to me like a reference to July 19, 2006.


6 July 2019 ???
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Penalty Box
User avatar
May 8, 2006
1094 posts
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Wingding wrote: On Saturday I bought two containers of a snack product called "Squez'N'Bites" at a Zellers store in Calgary. When I got them home I decided to immediately empty out and reuse one of the containers as a disposable candy jar for the office (it's a clear plastic cannister with a bright red top that{snippity snip}
Don't buy preserved foods sold in Zellers and produced in Taiwan next time. Honestly, that's just asking for it.
Deal Addict
Sep 23, 2005
1528 posts
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Burnaby
Imran DeRoy wrote: Don't buy preserved foods sold in Zellers and produced in Taiwan next time. Honestly, that's just asking for it.
Thanks for that very specific advice . . . I'll certainly try to do better from now on.
Deal Addict
Oct 9, 2003
3945 posts
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Vancouver
No Frills wrote: Many foods dont require best before dates. Pre packaged foods with a shelf life greater than 90 days don't require a "best before" date.

If a "best before" date is required, it must be on the label.

Take note I said "best before" and not "use by" or expiration date.
+1 That is true.

All the info and more you need to know about durable life dates from CFIA website: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fss ... html#a2_11

Although companies themselves may have a 'consume by' date on their products, that is arbitrary and not a legal requirement.
Penalty Box
User avatar
May 8, 2006
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Wingding wrote: Well, okay, fair enough, but how does that mouse issue pertain specifically to prepared foods from Taiwan (at Zellers)?
It doesn't really. Buying stuff from understaffed, under-maintained Zellers is already a bit dubious; I'm not sure anyone would be surprised this would happen at a Zellers.

Combine that with buying Chinese/Taiwanese-made food items and it's no-no land.

Good on you for wanting to spare/inform others, though.

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