Supermarket Sells Expired, But Edible, Food For Cheap

The supermarket Krónan experimented with selling expired food at a heavy discount this summer, with successful results.

Vísir reports that about a third of food offered in Icelandic stores ends up being thrown out. More often than not, the reason is the food is “expired”, which often has little to do with whether or not the food is still any good.

Krónan decided to conduct an experiment whereby instead of throwing away expired food, they offered much of it for sale at a heavy discount. By all accounts, people were undeterred by the expiration dates.

“This is going really well,” Krónan operations manager Kristinn Skúlason told reporters. “There has been a positive response, and customers readily buy these products.”

The food being offered is more often than not canned and bottled, and the price difference can be great – a can of sauce being sold for 50 ISK, for example, was originally priced at several hundred.

Given the experiment’s success, it is likely Krónan will continue to offer the service. No other food stores have yet announced taking up the practice.