A sample distribution went sour at Ball State University on Thursday when vendors discovered they had been handing out canned coffee beverages that were past their quality expiration date.
Cinnabon, Inc. had to cut a product sampling in the Atrium short after it received reports that its espressos and lattes had best-by dates from mid-October.
John Palczynski, territory manager for BYB Brands, said the drinks would sold in Out of Bounds, Micro Cafe and Woodworth and Noyer dining halls.
The Ball State Daily News collected fifteen samples that had best-by dates between Oct. 13 and Oct. 15, 2007.
Robert Jones, administrator for the Delaware County Health Department, said after examining the product, the dated products should not be a health risk for consumers despite having skim milk as an ingredient.
Preservatives and pasteurization would have prevented bacterial infection as long as the cans remained sealed, Jones said.
"It would probably be more of a quality than a health issue; It may not taste the best," he said. "It's kind of interesting that [Cinnabon] would want to give out a product that doesn't taste right. The consumer's not going to be pleased with that."
Mark Simmons, director of marketing for Cinnabon, said the company pulled the vendors from the Atrium, and it is looking into the incident.
Liz Poore, assistant director of operations for residence halls and dining, said this was the first time there were reports of outdated product samples being distributed on campus.
"Most of the time it's never been a problem," Poore said.
Simmons said it is against Cinnabon's policy to hand out products after their best-by dates.
"We were not aware that [expired products] were being handed out," he said.
Simmons said as long as the drinks are consumed near the best-by dates, they are safe.
The drinks are manufactured nine to 12 months before their best-by dates, Simmons said.
Poore said the university has no inspection process for examining food and drinks from private vendors before they are distributed to students.
Ball State intends to sell the Cinnabon drinks in several dining halls, Poore said.
"Usually we're just contacted to give [vendors] permission to come do the sampling," she said. "It's really up to them to promote the product and man the table."
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