Okaz newspaper

Some time ago, I read an Okaz report about a decision to remove expiration dates from products that damage quickly, like dairy items, donuts and other similar products. The reason given for removing the expiration dates was to prevent wasting food, as consumers will not buy expired goods.

I waited before commenting on this story because I thought it was in error, as I did not believe that the Consumer Protection Department along with the Ministry of Commerce would allow companies to carry out these steps that would put the health of consumers at risk.

Makkah newspaper reported that they tried to contact the Consumer Protection Department for a comment on this issue, but was unable to get a response from them.

Removing the expiration dates from food items will turn the stomachs of consumers into bins of expired goods because there is no way of knowing whether what they have been eating has been expired for days or weeks.

Food production companies should find a way to stop the wasting of food other than removing expiration dates from food items. They could, for example, study the actual market need for products and establish a production schedule based on the market need in order to solve the problem. Why would companies produce more food products than the market demands as this would clearly result in wasting food? Forcing consumers to buy products without an expiration date is immoral and I doubt that it can be done with the knowledge of the Consumer Protection Department and the Ministry of Commerce.

Where did this dangerous idea come from? Are they planning to also remove the expiration date from products that do not damage quickly? Are we going to reach the point where cans of food stay on the shelves until they explode and bags of rice and flour remain in shops until they are infested with weevils?