Whole Foods Settles NYC Mislabeling Charges

Whole Foods has settled with the New York Department of Consumer Affairs The investigation into what the agency has referred to as the "most egregious"  overcharging in recent history has resulted in the fancy grocer paying a fine to the organic tune of $500,000. 

There's an attached list of other actions the retailer must take, all of which amount to training properly, checking weights and measures and fixing problems if they are detected.  Sounds like pretty basic practices necessary for any credible entity to do the business of selling anything, much less food considered premium, and sold at correspondingly elevated prices. 

The release of this announcement in the sleepy news week between major holidays is about the only good luck - or careful planning - Whole Foods seems to have achieved this calendar year.  Since the start of this investigation (which followed another, similar problem in California settled for $800K) the fancy food merchant got sideswiped with an e-coli recall involving, among other things, a wrap that includes a centrally produced curried chicken salad under their label of Made Right Here - which it clearly wasn't.

They've hired a new head of Culinary something-or-other (a fancy title for a chef who may in fact be responsible for making tastier to-go foods) and implemented some new systems but will that all be enough to turn around perception, fire up the somewhat disheartened troops and bring back disillusioned customers? 

So what's next for the grocer who game-changed American Supermarkets?  Turns out it's a private label discount store featuring their 365 brand and other, more affordable, edibles.  

Let's hope they've learned how to use a digital scale and train, and have enough staff, to handle a new business model where customers will be ever more watchful, careful and cost conscious.  And if it says Made Right Here, let's hope it is.