When I was texturing the milk for my coffee this morning I noticed an odd smell. I put it in my coffee and the taste was terrible. I am intrigued as to how this could be. I literally had just opened the box before I textured it. The best before date is September 2018 and I had only bought it from the supermarket last week. I tasted it on its own and it was bad. The way this milk is treated I didn’t think this could happen when freshly opened? Any ideas?
Soured UHT Skim Milk
Sheila Dealer on 21/01/2018 - 14:13
Comments
It was my intention to return it. Not for the refund but just to inform them. Unfortunately I doubt whether it will go any further than the customer service rep at the front desk.
take it back, they'll refund/replace the item and it will be noted.
Not for the refund …
Might as well get the refund. Woolworths has a "Fresh or free" guarantee, probably the same with the other chains, so you are entitled to it. I have been in exactly the same situation as you, brought back the milk, and was refunded. In my case, it really was just that one carton, the next carton in the same box was OK.
Fresh or free is not avaiable at Coles. At woolworths it only includes fresh items (meat, fruit, veg etc) not packaged items.
@JenPat: Australian Consumer Law still applies — it has to be fit for purpose. Clearly this one isn't. You have the right to refund or replace it. I've had this happen to me too with a box of Coles home label Stock, which actually puffed up while still sealed on my cupboard shelf. It was replaced without question or receipt (but the fact it was their own label probably helped a lot!)
It is just a random failure, and your bad luck that you happened to pick up the bad box this time around. It could be due to contamination inside the box during packaging and processing, or a pinhole tear in the carton or seals that allowed bacteria in. No need to make a big deal about it other than getting a refund/replacement. There is nothing they can do to make the process better or safer based on a single report.
@JenPat: Quite right, thanks for pointing this out - the fresh or free covers only fresh items. Will have to rely on ACL as endotherm pointed out above.
Maybe a problem in the manufacturing process that didn't treat the milk properly, or some of the cleaning chemicals weren't flushed out properly. Hard to tell without doing an analysis of the milk. You could take it back to the store and tell them you are concerned about the batch or you could just piff it and see what the next carton is like. Personally I only use UHT milk when I am making Yogurt, but thanks for the heads up I might have a sip of it from now one before I start the process just to check.
So you're trying to see that it hasn't gone off before you intentionally make it go off? :)
yeah, I can see the irony of this :)
Bad luck and dont drink it, return it to the store you bought it from.
Take it back for exchange or refund, you're entitled to. Could be contamination of that packet.
This happened to me many years ago with a carton of Devondale milk. I called the 1800 number on the carton. A rep on the other end asked about the best before date, taste, and another printed code on the carton, and took down my details. I got $5 or $10 (can't remember exactly) in the mail a couple of weeks later as a thank you from the company.
Exactly. Companies rely on consumer complaints and feedback to ensure quality assurance and identify contaminated batches.
..and as a cooler-downer (is that a word? it is now) so if you go to a current affair or another news outlet, they hope the money will help you less exaggerate or not even go to the public about the story.
Thanks to Ozb member Cluster I have rung Woolworths customer service who have taken all the details and will get back to me in 72 business hours. I’ll let you know the outcome.
I finally heard back from Woolworths today saying that there was a known problem with this milk going bad before the expiry date which they are investigating. I have been emailed a $20 e Wish card for my trouble. That was a nice surprise. However I would still like to know the cause of the problem. Doesn’t sound like I’m going to find that out.
return it back to the store.