[_lex]

That would be totally fine if this was Safeway or somewhere else that isn't selling fresh goods that go bad quickly. This isn't the case for things like bread and cheese at Trader Joe's - those things go bad just after their sell by dates. I'd agree that it wasn't unusual or shady if it wasn't a significant departure from their standard practices - I've shopped at TJs for years, and this change is fairly recent.

The Safeway experience is agonizing, though I'm sure it must be profitable for them at least in the short term. I just avoid them now, even though they have things I just can't find at TJs.