It is often an issue and you can tell when you get mushy mulies after they defrost that they have been there too long.

If you buy somewhere like Shorecatch (NOR) then you have a great chance of fresh bait. Otherwise, scope out the local hotspot shop for bait as they will have a decent following and rotate the stock in a timely fashion.

Date packaging would be good but at the end of the day it is bait and probably not worth the effort for the manufacturers. After all, the old bait wouldn't sell and would they need to take the stock back if that was the case? 

 walked into a tackle store one day that had a Delivery of bait sitting on the floor whilst staff were talking crap behind counter. No probs I thought until I walked along side said pile and it was completely thawed out. Now I haven't worked fishing retail before but allowing the bait to thaw on the floor is not the best look for a customer who demands the freshest bait possible. My personal opinion is a store who gives a crap about its customers will ensure bait is fresh (correct ordering and stock levels)

How well bait (any protein really) has been kept frozen is at least as important as how long it has been frozen -- frozen at low temperature and not thawed or thermal cycled, most protein, bait included, will last a while. The temperature and the cycling up and down of the temperature make a big difference. Thermal cycling tends to degrade protein, and how much of it occurs depends on the freezer type (and if it has been turned off, or the contents removed and not very quickly put into another freezer.) At the same temperature frost-free freezers are inherently worse for long term storage than the kind that build up frost because the auto-defrost cycle leads to more thermal cycling. Unfortunately many/most bait freezers in shops are not great freezers, and I've (rather shockingly) overheard some even turn them off for bit to limit frost build up or save power, or who knows what they're thinking...so, fresh stock is almost always better mostly because of sub-par freezers. Sometimes you might find out when a shop gets resupplied by talking to the people who work in the shop. If you find out when a shop gets resupplied, that can be a good time to buy bait, even if you don't need it the next few days (even standard frost-free home freezers can be better than freezers in some shops.) Better shops seem to have higher turnover and put more effort into keeping their stock well frozen, so the bait is substantially less likely to be degraded. Also some baits have higher turnover than others…I won’t buy certain types of less commonly used bait from a local shop anymore after getting gross mushy stuff too many times. FWIW, I’ve had generally good experiences at the shops that sponsor this site which I have visited. (Wish they were a bit closer.)

Totally agree JP, or you put your hook thru the eye/head and the head splits from the body. Hate that!
Store bought bait is a last resort for me.

Only usually buy it for burley and to catch more bait. I always find that fresh, natural bait out-fishes the frozen stuff on land and out deep.

I don't buy occy anymore. Apart from being expensive, people have caught on to how good it is to eat so you only get the crap for bait. Got sick of defrosting and it coming out pink....and that is from reputable tackle shops.

 lol . Buying from wrong store. Sounds like early bird occy. I never buy bait( except mullies). Prep is the up most of importance to Occo or squid prior to freezing. Find out where local cray guys sell there occy . And then you will find quality .

Can't go wrong with WA Bait mulies lately as they have their own boat and they have been fresh as.

 Great mullies.:):)

 Great mullies.:):)

We have 2 bait deliverys per week and we sell plenty. Fast turnover means fresher and our customers are very happy with our bait which is mainly from Early Bird Seafood.

The bait wholesalers ocky is often imported and not always up to everyones standard so thats why we have the premium local ocky here for the people wanting the best.

As for mulies the 2 main bait suppliers get them from Albany so you cant go wrong. Shop owner Ryan says the best way to get your mulies to hold onto your hooks is to; defrost them in saltwater, once semi-defrosted drain the water and keep them out of the sun & heat (works for him).