Sibu Tales : Expired Goods

Stories about expired goods :

Once we went on a mission into the interior and we wanted to buy some biscuits in bulk as rewards for the families who would come to help us with our work. When the shop keeper loaded our box with our purchases, I noticed that some of the biscuits were already " expired". He was most unhappy when I put them back and told him not to sell them...He then scolded me and said that "any way those people up in the ulu would not know the difference".

Years later I was given some "expired biscuits" too. My friends and I were doing some charity work for an organisation. The organisers, whether they knew it or not, gave out goodies bags to the helpers and to those who came to support the food fare. When it was time for our break we opened the goodies bags and found that almost all the biscuits were expired. I told my colleagues not to eat them and we had to buy our own snacks from the stalls. But actually that was not the only occasion when volunteers are given expired goods to eat. Organisers have to be more caring and more careful.

Through out our lives we would have received many hampers for Chinese New Year, for one reason or another. My mother received a large hamper from a bank she patronised and we checked for her. Every thing was not expired and we okayed the gift. When  schools in Sibu did up hampers, teachers would go to Ta Kiong in Sibu to buy the best products for  Lucky Draw Hampers, for example. Almost all teachers are well trained by the Consumer Association to be very observant. But once in a while some friends would tell us that they had some expired goods in their hampers.

Sometimes poor relatives get gifts from their richer relatives. The conniving relatives would even mask the expiry date by using a marker or even using a knife to scrape off the date. How mean can people be. They might as well not give gifts. I believe this happens all the time because I read articles about this matter and students have written essays about such low down behaviour. When we give gifts, we must give the best. 

Do you get "gifts" of expired goods from bosses, relatives, and in Chinese New Year or Christmas Hampers? What would you do?

Photo from Google.