Waitrose has faced criticism from customers after delivering fresh food items with very limited shelf life, including products arriving within 24 hours of their expiry dates. Complaints have highlighted issues such as raw fish nearing its use-by date, mouldy peaches, overripe watermelons, and dairy products with best-before or use-by dates that coincide with the day of delivery.
Several customers have shared their experiences online, describing instances where groceries intended for future use were effectively perishable on arrival. One shopper reported receiving an apple pie labeled with the same date as their purchase, despite planning to serve it at a weekend event.
Waitrose, part of the John Lewis Partnership (JLP), maintains that its staff are trained to select the freshest possible products, prioritizing those with the longest remaining shelf life. However, an online order placed anonymously via a third-party delivery service last Sunday revealed several items—such as British raspberries, strawberries, and haddock fillets—with best-before or use-by dates just one day away. Other items, including yellow peaches and semi-skimmed milk, had somewhat longer shelf life but still less than ideal for customers seeking fresher groceries.
Recent findings from the consumer group Which? suggest that Waitrose offers the shortest average shelf life for fresh and perishable foods among major UK supermarkets. The analysis showed an average use-by period of just 7.7 days at Waitrose, putting it behind competitors such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Ocado, Morrisons, and Asda. This data presents a challenge for the retailer, which is known as an upmarket grocer holding a Royal Warrant and promotes itself as providing the highest quality grocery products in the UK.
Dr. Lisa Ackerley, a longstanding Waitrose customer and qualified environmental health practitioner, stated that freshness issues with deliveries have become so routine that she feels compelled to inspect packages carefully and often returns food with minimal shelf life. She noted that while freezing these items is a temporary solution, customers should not have to resort to that.
The John Lewis Partnership is currently engaged in a cost-cutting transformation plan, which has included store closures and staff reductions. A former Waitrose picker who left the company two months ago described the pressure on employees to complete large workloads in limited time as making it "near impossible" to maintain high standards in order picking.
In response, Waitrose said no staff are evaluated based on picking speed and reported no overall increase in customer complaints regarding product freshness. A company spokesperson expressed regret that the sample order, fulfilled by one of its convenience stores on a Sunday afternoon, did not meet expectations, though emphasized that every item still had at least 24 hours before expiry. The spokesperson added that given fresh items bought via on-demand services are generally intended for immediate consumption, such shelf-life constraints typically do not affect customer satisfaction.