New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Julie Menin said Monday that a settlement agreement has been reached with Whole Foods Market. The agreement settles DCA’s investigation into the Austin, Texas-based retailer’s alleged mislabeling of pre-packaged products.
Whole Foods refused DCA’s initial demand for $1.5 million and said in a statement that it is paying $500,000 “to put this issue behind us.”
In addition to that payment, the agreement requires Whole Foods to:
- conduct quarterly in-store audits of at least 50 products from 10 different departments at all New York City stores to help ensure products are accurately weighed and labeled and to correct all inaccuracies;
- in the event that DCA inspectors identify mislabeled pre-packaged foods at a Whole Foods store, that store must immediately remove all mislabeled products and, within 15 days, Whole Foods must check the accuracy of that product’s pricing, as well as 20 additional products from the same department, at all New York City stores;
- implement and enforce policies and procedures that require employees not estimate the weight of a package but rather individually weigh each package and only label the package with a label that is based on the weight of the actual contents; and,
- conduct training for all New York City employees who are involved in weighing and labeling products.
The statement from Whole Foods said the DCA “misrepresented” the agreement because it already had procedures in place that go beyond those requirements. Whole Foods said it had preexisting pricing and weights/measures programs, including a third party auditing and training program and a 100 percent pricing accuracy guarantee that gives customers a full refund on any mispriced item.
Whole Foods also said the DCA’s allegations of violations on weighted/measured items were limited to New York City, and “as our joint agreement states, there was no evidence of systematic or intentional misconduct by anyone in the Northeast region or the rest of the company.”
DCA regularly inspects all of the city’s supermarkets for labeling, scanner and scale accuracy and pricing. Its investigation of the labeling of pre-packaged products in Whole Foods Market’s New York City stores originally was announced in June 2015.
“After discovering the troubling and repeated mislabeling of pre-packaged goods at Whole Foods last year, we are happy to have reached an agreement with Whole Foods that will help to ensure New Yorkers are better protected from overcharging,” said Menin. “Whether it’s a bodega in the Bronx or a national grocery store in Manhattan, we believe every business needs to treat its customers fairly and, with this agreement, we hope Whole Foods will deliver on its promise to its customers to correct their mistakes. DCA will also continue its vigilance in making sure New Yorkers are protected every time they check out at the grocery.”
