To read the full report, head here.
UPDATE: Michel’s Patisserie ADMITS to selling cakes well past their expiry date - and withdraws these goods from sale
Read their statement here
- by
Amy Sinclair
UPDATE: Michel's Patisserie has admitted to extending the shelf life on a range of cakes after it was accused of selling products that were several months past their use-by dates.
Today the company's owner Retail Food Group (RCG) announced that it will withdraw those goods from sale, admitting that they asked less than one per cent of their 1,000 suppliers to extend the shelf life on items 'where appropriate and safe to do so'.
EARLIER: Michel's Patisserie has been accused of ‘deliberately’ selling batches of cakes to customers months after their use-by date.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that they have obtained a series of memos from the company behind Michel’s Patisserie - Retail Food Group (RFG) - instructing the chain’s stores to ignore expiry dates on some products and adopt new policies to extend the shelf life of various items.
The paper went on to report that franchisees were instructed to extend the use-by date of one cake decorating product by six months - while other chocolate cakes, including birthday cakes, had had their expiry dates extended by three months. Some vegetable products - including spinach and feta scrolls - had their expiry date pushed out by two months.
Says the SMH: ‘The move has caused an uproar among franchisees, who are forced to buy RFG products under the terms of their agreements. Most of the products are delivered frozen and then thawed out and sold to customers.’
Michel’s are now facing a food safety investigation from the NSW Food Authority. In a statement to the Sydney Morning Herald, RFG said: ‘RFG takes its food standard obligations extremely seriously and any potential breach of such standards would be investigated thoroughly alongside our suppliers.’
Amy Sinclair
Amy Sinclair is the editor of New Idea Food. She is a former weekly magazine editor who loves all things food, cooking and eating - especially the eating! When she's not looking after her three children, you'll find her in the kitchen or busily hiding online shopping purchases from her husband.
