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 White Plains, NY - Westchester County has issued fines totaling more than $85,000 to 33 local food stores for failing to remove expired items from the shelves.
The Department of Consumer Protection acted following recent inspections of 63 food stores. While overall, Westchester stores did better than in a 2007 investigation, the latest check finds the problem still persists.
“Things are better, but not good enough,” said County Executive Andy Spano. “The last time we issued warnings, this time we are issuing fines. Merchants must understand we will enforce the law.”
The stores with the worst results were three Stop & Shops stores: Larchmont (129 outdated items), North White Plains (123 outdated items) and Peekskill (113 outdated items).
Spano singled out for praise the A&P in Goldens Bridge, the only store where no outdated items were found in the current investigation; and the ShopRite group of four stores, none of which were fined because they had very few outdated foods on their shelves and no store with more than 10 items that were four days overdue.
“I compliment these stores for their ongoing efforts to monitor what is on their store shelves,” said Spano. “I know it requires vigilance and constant training of employees.”
Of the 63 supermarkets and other food sellers throughout the county inspected, investigators found an average of 30 outdated items per store. That’s a 66 percent reduction from the 88 outdated items per store that inspectors found late last year.
Fines were levied on those stores selling 10 or more items that were at least four days outdated. Total fines amounted to $85,425. Stores may ask for a formal hearing if they decide to contest the fine.
In addition, numerous other stores had fewer than 10 outdated items.
The worst performers in the initial investigation all showed dramatic improvement. The A&P on Rt. 100A in Greenburgh went from 433 outdated items to 6, the A&P in Mamaroneck went from 309 to 12, the Food Emporium in Yorktown went from 255 to 10, and the ShopRite in Bedford Hills went from 247 to 10.
“The results of the follow-up investigation show that, with increased effort and proper management, stores can greatly reduce the amount of outdated food that is on the shelves,” said Gary Brown, director of Consumer Protection. “We will continue to do inspections to ensure that all stores in the county are removing foods that have passed their expiration date.”
CONSUMER TIPS:
- Always check the “sell by” date on the packaging.
- Don’t automatically reach to the back of the display case, assuming that fresher items have been placed there. In many stores, inspectors found outdated items at the back of the display case, as stores had placed fresh items in the front and simply pushed older items to the back.
Following is a list of supermarkets that were inspected, together with the number of outdated dairy case items that were found and the proposed fine:
Total Number of 4+ Days 31+ Days Proposed Fine
Store Outdated Items Outdated Outdated Amount
A&J Met Food, New Rochelle 2 2 0 - *
A&P, Mamaroneck 12 12 12 $1,800
A&P, Yonkers 14 3 0 - *
A&P, Scarsdale 2 0 0 - *
A&P, Greenburgh (Rte. 119) 2 0 0 - *
A&P, Peekskill 14 12 3 $1,125
A&P, New Rochelle 31 22 2 $1,775
A&P, Goldens Bridge 0 0 0 -
A&P, Millwood 3 3 2 - *
A&P, Mt. Kisco 6 1 0 - *
A&P, Eastchester 2 1 0 - *
A&P, Bronxville 7 2 0 - *
A&P, Hastings 5 2 0 - *
A&P, Greenburgh (Rte. 100A) 6 6 0 - *
A&P, Croton 1 1 0 - *
A&P, Thornwood 13 3 0 - *
A&P, Mohegan Lake 13 9 1 - *
A&P, Shrub Oak 1 0 0 - *
A&P, Port Chester 34 22 3 $1,275
CostCo, Yonkers 4 4 0 - *
CostCo, Port Chester 23 13 0 $750
* A notice of violation, or warning, was issued to these stores.
Total Number of 4+ Days 31+ Days Proposed Fine
Store Outdated Items Outdated Outdated Amount
C-Town, Tarrytown 17 7 1 - *
C-Town, Eastchester 21 5 0 - *
C-Town, Peekskill 22 22 2 $1,400
C-Town, Ossining 51 35 6 $2,800
D’Agostino’s, Cross River 2 2 0 - *
D’Agostino’s, Rye Brook 46 19 0 $650
Decicco, Ardsley 67 46 2 $2,150
Decicco, Bronxville 11 9 2 - *
Decicco, Pelham 62 56 14 $4,475
Decicco, Scarsdale 41 40 0 $2,250
Food Emporium, New Rochelle 71 43 17 $4,200
Food Emporium, Port Chester 4 0 0 - *
Food Emporium, Yorktown 10 6 0 - *
Food Emporium, Harrison 5 1 0 - *
Food Emporium, Bedford Village 56 46 13 $4,275
Food Emporium, Briarcliff 6 6 5 - *
Kam Sen Foods, White Plains 30 26 0 $900
Key Food Market, Pleasantville 68 18 3 $1,225
Gristede’s, Pelham Manor 63 49 0 $2,600
Gristede’s, Scarsdale 22 12 0 $450
Morton Williams, Hartsdale 72 29 0 $1,425
Mrs. Green’s, Eastchester 17 11 1 $750
Mrs. Green’s, Briarcliff 41 25 5 $2,050
Pathmark, Yonkers 60 44 0 $1,500
Sav-A-Lot, Peekskill 82 54 9 $4,675
Scotts Corner Market, Pound Ridge 73 45 3 $2,425
ShopRite, Croton 9 2 2 - *
ShopRite, Bedford Hills 10 1 1 - *
ShopRite, Thornwood 7 6 0 - *
ShopRite, Cortlandt Manor 2 2 0 - *
Stew Leonard’s, Yonkers 7 1 0 - *
Stop & Shop, Port Chester 40 27 2 $1,500
Stop & Shop, Peekskill 113 61 27 $6,225
Stop & Shop, Yonkers 58 42 18 $4,500
Stop & Shop, Dobbs Ferry 13 12 0 $350
Stop & Shop, Eastchester 52 37 0 $1,575
Stop & Shop, Larchmont 129 99 57 $11,125
Stop & Shop, Somers 28 23 17 $2,875
Stop & Shop, N. White Plains 123 83 29 $8,050
Trader Joe’s, Hartsdale 17 12 0 $650
Trader Joe’s, Scarsdale 3 2 2 - *
Turco’s, Yorktown 27 24 3 $1,650
* A notice of violation, or warning, was issued to these stores.
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