Kremen School of Education vending machine selling expired drinks

Fresno State has vending machines scattered everywhere on campus, and if you’re a student, chances are you’ve seen many of them.

“I see them around, like everywhere,” said mechanical engineering major Michael Solorao, “I go to them quite a bit.”

Vending machines can be found all over the Fresno State campus. The Kremen School of Education has several, and one of the vending machines there has a major problem.

The vending machine in the picture below is tucked away in the corner of the second story of the building, and more than half the drinks in the machine are expired by over a couple of months.

Fresno State student Owen Cornick figured this out the hard way when he purchased a peach tea from the vending machine one day during lunch.

“I found out my drink was expired because after I drank the drink and got sick,” said Cornick, “I was wondering what it was, so I checked the date and it was a couple of months expired at that point.”

I checked other vending machines on campus and found three more that also had issues. The vending machine in the bowling alley has a “use at your own risk” sign taped to it because it often takes people’s money. The Social Sciences vending machine has drinks for sale with dents all over the cans, and the R-S-U vending machines take peoples’ money when they try to buy items with nickels or dimes.

I reached out to all the companies that own these machines, but none got back to me. However, Fresno State Risk Management did get back to me through email, explaining that according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), soft drinks and sodas are still safe to drink months after the expiration date.

If you notice any problems with other vending machines on campus, contact Fresno State Risk Management.