Jump to content

Marks & Spencer sandwiches - wasteful, flimsy and damaged food packaging and freshness of imported apples


Recommended Posts

Has anyone else had problems with M&S sandwich packaging?  I’m referring to the ones in the boxes, not the wraps. I don’t buy from there every week.  I’ve bought from the one near ED station, Kings College and St Thomas. This has been going on for a while - several years.  Either the top detaches from the main part and is open and or a slit appears in the cellophane which appears to have become increasingly flimsy over the years.  I talked to a staff member at Kings M&S yesterday  (he is leaving their employment next week so seemed happy to talk) who admitted that they have to throw away many sandwiches on a daily and weekly basis because of these problems.  I have in the past contacted M&S head office whose attitude was tough, just take it back to where you bought it (or to another M&S) for  a refund.  I’ve seen sandwiches with damaged open cellophane sitting on the shelves which I’ve pointed out to the staff and they are then removed  and disposed of and I’ve had the cellophane split on a short journey from the shop to where it’s been eaten. I bought 3 sandwiches yesterday and after leaving the Kings premises,  all three  had developed damage by the time they were supposed to be eaten.

Kings M&S also sells lots of non UK apples which go bad very quickly or are already damaged by the time you unwrap the packaging which is usually impossible to see through the packaging. Last week I had one staff member replace damaged apples he’d noticed in my basket  but the ones he’d given me in replacement were also damaged which I’d only noticed when I got home. These have probably been stored for months and months.  I understand that Kings M&S is a franchise.  I haven’t used the larger M&S on LL in a while so not sure if they have the same problems. 

Got a sandwich at St. Thomas' Hospital M & S on 7th October, when opened noticed that a slice of bread missing - in fact had 3/4 of sandwich. Could not be bothered to take back as I did not have card on me that day and paid in cash to the only staff member there manning the tills.

When I moved to London many moons ago I was shocked that people bought sandwiches.  Surely, I thought, everybody makes their own.  Still haven't got my head around it.

I'd be disappointed if M&S threw sandwiches away.  Pret for example is known to donate unsold ones to charity.  https://foodservicefootprint.com/pret-a-manger-fighting-food-waste/

Maybe I should write to Ellie asking her to speak to the Food minister.

  • Like 1

I ate my 3/4 sandwich in the M & S café - the woman who was operating the cash till had disappeared. Unlike most people I do not have a SMART phone  only a very basic £50 Pay as you go phone with a rubbish camera. Also having had surgery earlier that day and not eaten for 8/9 hours - I was too hungry.

On 18/10/2024 at 00:20, Kipper_1972 said:

bio cellophane, the whole thing can be composted. Sounds like that's where alot of them will be going....

It does sound like that. Here’s a photo of the recycling info.   

IMG_0384.jpeg

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • I've used just about all the locally available supermarkets for deliveries over the years, and I now  use Waitrose for deliveries, for various reasons. They have a good range of the things I eat, their food is good quality and their "essentials" range is generally good value (except the tissues, which suddenly became so thin as to disintegrate immediately. I was mainly buying them for the nice plain boxes, so now I just put other tissues into the old Waitrose boxes 🤣) It is very rare for something I've ordered to not be available on the day. Their delivery drivers  are genuinely friendly and helpful. Their customer service is very good. On the rare occasions I've had issues, they have refunded me without quibbling. They often have special deals on some of the things I buy often, so I stock up when they are cheaper. I do occasionally compare prices with other supermarkets, and overall I really don't think Waitrose is more expensive, but obviously they might be for things I don't personally buy. I absolutely hate Sainsbury's, would use Lidl for some things but they don't deliver, Iceland has a very small range of things I eat, and I can't remember why I don't use Tesco or Asda any more. I recently checked out Ocado because there was some offer which seemed good value, but they just didn't have enough things I wanted to buy to make it worth using the offer. M&S don't deliver ( to the best of my knowledge) but in any case they seem to be still badly suffering from the recent hack into their system. Apologies, I have just remembered this thread is about shopping at actual physical stores, but probably many of the issues are the same.
    • Since I am of a certain vintage now, not sure if what I am going to suggest is even still around but here goes… use to be able to buy “dummy/mock papers on line and also had mini synopsis of Shakespeare plays specifically covering students wanting to gain a better understanding of play before taking mocks/ exams. Only know this as many many moons ago, struggled with English Literature and Language and this was the avenue-my parents went down. Also was at this point in my life, educated abroad as part of my fathers job.  
    • Love your comment about “shoehorned” - put a smile on my face..! As for comment about “Little Waitrose” ummmm - never really thought about it. Personally, could not care less. But guess Sainsbury Local and Tesco Express are to you more acceptable.. Ultimately, when I think about it, I actually don’t care what they call themselves - been lured by partially branding and partially convenience and what they offer in groceries.
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...