New York City Claims Whole Foods Market Overcharged, Mislabeled Package Weights

The New York Department of Consumer Affairs tested 80 types of prepackaged products and found all of them had mislabeled weight.

Reuters
The natural foods and organic retailer, which has outlets in the UK, is said to have overstated weights of pre-packaged meat, dairy and baked products.
The natural foods and organic retailer, which has outlets in the UK, is said to have overstated weights of pre-packaged meat, dairy and baked products.

Whole Foods Market Inc. is being investigated by the New York Department of Consumer Affairs for overcharging customers for prepackaged meat, dairy and other goods by overstating their weight, according to Reuters.

The overcharging ranged from 80 cents for a package of pecan panko to $14.84 for a package of coconut shrimp, the agency said on Wednesday.

Whole Foods, which dominates natural and organic grocery sales in the U.S., is nicknamed "Whole Paycheck" for its high prices.

The agency tested 80 types of prepackaged products and found all of them had mislabeled weight.

About 89 percent of the packages tested did not meet the federal standard for the maximum amount that a package can deviate from the actual weight, the agency said.

"We disagree with the DCA's over-reaching allegations and we are vigorously defending ourselves," Whole Foods spokesman Michael Sinatra said in an email.

The agency has not provided the retailer with evidence to back up its demands or requested the company to provide any additional information, he added.

The potential number of violations that Whole Foods faces is in the thousands, the agency said.

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