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As the global financial crisis hits the UK, consumers are not being so fussy about "best-before" dates on their food, according to British media reports.
The new enthusiasm for cut-price food has been confirmed by online retailer "Approved Food" which sells food that is past its prime. The company says turnover has increased tenfold since the start of the economic crisis.
It sells food and damaged goods that have been rejected by larger retailers. Some of its deals include 12 packs of noodles for a pound - compared to the usual 83p for a single pack.
Dan Cluderay, chief executive and founder of Approved Food, told the Daily Mail that business had struggled until last September's banking crisis caused thousands to lose their jobs.
Since then, he claims the number of customers registered with Approved Food has rocketed from 500 to 5,000.
"Attitudes have definitely changed," Cluderay told the paper. "No one gave us a chance when we first opened but we have started to prove people wrong.
'And there is a massive gap in the market. The big supermarkets don't want to compete with us as they do not want any association with out-of-date food.'
The Scotsman says that demand for the Approved Food site had been so high that it was shut down for a few days while a backlog of orders was cleared.
Approved Food's website says that although its products have passed their best-before date, they are never beyond the use-by date.
A spokesman for the Food Standards Agency told the Scotsman that best-before food would not be dangerous to eat. He said: "Best-before is an indication of quality rather than safety. Eating food past the best-before date does not necessarily put someone at risk from food poisoning."
- HERALD ONLINE
