Hmm. What would you do if brand name batteries, aka Duracell, Everready, were leaking BEFORE the use by date. Never used, just toxicly leaking out in packaging.
I have this quite often.
Yes, I have had the same problem many times. I am not saying that its not a serious problem and very annoying... I can't tell you how many electronic trinkets that I have had destroyed over the years by alkaline batteries that leaked. Sometimes you can salvage them and sometimes not.
The goo leaking out of alkaline batteries is mostly potassium hydroxide. The amount leaking out of an AA battery can burn your skin if you try hard enough... and it would probably make you sick if you licked up enough of it. But compared to HF or Hydrofluoric acid... it is not something that is very harmful or particularly toxic. It is one of the primary additives to many fertilizers. I have never even bothered to wear gloves when trying to clean it off the little coiled wires at the ends of a battery holder.
I use rechargeable nimh instead of duracell batteries, they all leak now, many like you say they leak.
The leakage problem has gotten far worse in recent years, I have some duracell from 2000 that are fine, but recent ones just leak everywhere after a few years/