Morrisons shopper stunned as mince pies appear on shelves - but there's one issue

Supermarket chain Morrisonsis getting behind the Christmas spirit early, with the shelves at one of their locations already stocked with Christmas goodies. However, there’s one glaring problem.

Shoppers were left stunned by the displays at Morrisons, Eastbourne, East Sussex, on September 3, as kids begin their autumn terms at school. Christmas snacks — including mince pies and cakes, as well as advent calendars — were on sale at the supermarket outlet, much to the surprise of shoppers.

The shelves at this Morrisons location were stocked with festive food 16 weeks before Christmas, but there is a major problem: some of the mince pies have best-before dates in October. This means the Christmas treats will expire long before the festive season arrives.

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Boxes of Morrisons’ six own-brand mince pies were spotted on the shelves of the Eastbourne outlet with best-before dates of October 24. Stacked in sizable piles, each mince pie box of six is being retailed for £1.50 at the East Sussex store.

One customer called Yasmin tells us: “It’s the first week of September. I haven’t even packed away my summer clothes, and suddenly I’m being force-fed mince pies with a sell-by date before Halloween. At this rate, we’ll be carving turkeys instead of pumpkins.”

It’s not just the mince pies. A £3.50 rich and fruity Christmas cake bar on display would need to be eaten by Boxing Day. Apart from the mince pies and Christmas cake bar on offer — shoppers can also get their hands on Lindt advent calendars and Christmas fruit cakes for £8.50 each.

An iced Christmas cake infused with brandy is being retailed too, as reported by What’s The Jam. Sixteen mini gingerbread people will set you back £12.

Galaxy, Dairy Milk, and Malteser advent calendars are also available already, as well as Santa-shaped chocolate. This is not the first instance of Morrisons Christmas goodies being sold months before the festive season that has been brought to light.

On Sunday, August 17, a Midland shopper shared his shock at finding mince pies on sale at the Morrisons in Solihull. The customer shared photos showing stacks of the sugary festive treats available in two types at the store. He said he was "shocked" at seeing the season's first mince pies on sale, particularly during a weekend when temperatures soared to 25C.

"It was shocking, Christmas seems to come earlier every year and these pies were on sale in sweltering heat," said the shopper, as he reflected, "It was such a strange sight - I had to take a picture."

Both shortcrust and puff pastry versions were available for purchase at the Solihull outlet, with a pack of six shortcrust pastries priced at £1.50 and puff pastry retailing for £1. Despite his initial shock, the shopper admitted he ended up buying a pack for his family, but clarified he wasn't planning to start preparing for the holiday season just yet.

Morrisons has been approached for comment.