Don't buy fridge items from Smart and Final

This morning I went to Smart and Final to pick up a few items.  They are close to my home. 

Over the last few months I had been looking at the expiration dates on items in the Smart and Final refrigerated items.  Milk, butter, orange juice and yogurt (Yoplait).  Their dates seemed much more narrow in date scope than the same items from Ralphs, Vons or Target. 

Perhaps Smart and Final receives lower prices on items with a short shelf life that are not acceptable to other markets?

I decided to document this over the period of a few months each time I shopped.

Smart and Final's prices on these items were not any lower than the prices at the other stores I mentioned.  The best prices seem to be at Target where the store carries groceries.

In the above photo, the juice on the left was purchased today, December 10, 2010 at Smart and Final in Burbank.  The expiration date is December 25th.  The same brand and style of juice on the right was purchased on November 22, 2010.  The expiration date is January 14, 2011.  Orange juice has a long shelf life but the shelf life from Smart and Final in each case I checked was much shorter than the shelf life from anybody else.

The same was found for milk, yogurt, packaged meats, cheese.  If it needs to be refrigerated the shelf life is much shorter if purchased from Smart and Final.  In the case of some other items such as cookies I found the same problem.

I always check at the back of each section or for items on the bottom for later dates.  This did not make any difference.

From Target in North Hollywood - Purchased 11/22/10

From Smart and Final in Burbank purchased 12/2/10 today.

Just a heads up with some shopping tips.