Shoppers outraged over Coles bin full of discarded groceries
A shocking photo of a bin filled with discarded groceries at the back of a Coles supermarket has gone viral, outraging many shoppers.
The photo, taken behind the Drouin store in West Gippsland, Victoria, shows a skip bin measuring over a metre high overflowing with tens of thousands of dollars worth of food, including meat, ice cream, pasta, pizzas, dips, cheeses, juice and smoked salmon.
According to 7News, the products were thrown out after the region was hit with a storm that caused a power outage, and as the store did not have a backup generator, the refrigerated food was spoiled and needed to be thrown out.
Coles has explained that items had to be discarded to ensure customer safety, but many shoppers were left shocked and infuriated about the waste, arguing the store should have been ready for the storms with backup generators.
“For the 2023/24 financial year, Coles Australia reported a net profit of $1.1 billion and can’t afford back up generators, go figure,” one wrote.
Others insisted some of the food could have been saved or donated, as one person said, “Butter that stays on the bench for two weeks (is) fine!” while another insisted, “at least donate it”.
A supermarket worker commiserated with the upset shoppers, as they wrote online, “As someone who works for one of the supermarket chains, I have had to partake in this due to a prolonged power outage earlier this year.”
“I feel for these staff, there’s nothing worse than having to throw out so much refrigerated stock. Coming from a family who didn’t have much, I get the pain people feel from this incident.”
However, one social media user noted that regarding donations, “legally they cannot, if they give someone food poisoning and kill them they are liable”.
A Coles spokesperson told news.com.au that food safety is a top priority, saying in a statement, “Due to the extreme weather that hit much of Victoria early last week, there were widespread power outages, including in the Drouin and surrounding areas.”
“Food safety is paramount at Coles and unfortunately as a result of products being un-refrigerated for an extended period of time, for safety and quality reasons, we needed to dispose of a number of products to ensure customer safety.
“Where possible, Coles always donates product that is fit for use and safe for consumption to food rescue organisations.”
Image credits: 7News