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Canned fish sold at Vancouver grocery stores years past expiry date

When Margaret Radomski, 78, of Leduc, Alberta recently fell ill after eating a can of lobster pâté she purchased at Wal-Mart, she checked bottom of the can to find a nasty surprise: the Clover Leaf product was marked with a “best before” date of July 2011.

Within a few hours of eating the canned seafood, Radomski tells CBC “I started to see stars in my eyes… a crawling sensation on my face. I got weak in my legs.” Healthy, without any allergies, she knew she had food poisoning and blamed the pâté.

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In a follow-up to Radomski’s story, CBC’s Go Public visited 17 supermarkets in the Vancouver area to investigate the best before dates of canned fish and seafood products on store shelves.

The results? One third of the stores had outdated cans being sold to consumers. They even found a can of shrimp in one Coquitlam, B.C. Safeway store dated August 2010.

The Canadian government has no rules against selling outdated canned foods. In fact, most canned products don’t even require a best before date to be stamped on them at all, with manufacturers including them voluntarily. While food safety experts admit that there is no proof that eating canned seafood products after their best before date will make you sick, they also remind us that there is no definitive proof that it won’t.

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Retailers generally do their part to keep the food on their shelves current, but consumers need to be aware that mistakes are made.

Following a 2012 advisory release, Health Canada tells CBC that once a best before date has passed, "Use your judgment. When in doubt, throw it out."

In Radomski’s case, for example, she admits the pâté smelled and tasted too fishy.