Accused of shortchanging NYC customers on prepackaged produce, Whole Foods Inc. has agreed to pay a half million-dollars in penalties. … and mend its wicked ways.
The matter came to light earlier this year, after state prosecutors discovered that barely a single gourmet goodie for sale at Whole Foods’ stores in Manhattan weighed the amount stated on the package.
Indeed, upwards of 90-percent were grossly overstated, forcing customers to routinely shell out more for those items than they were actually worth.
Similar consumer rip-off claims had been previously raised in California and subsequently settled, well before the same controversy arose this year on the east coast.
In New York’s case, however, Whole Foods will submit to additional regulation by state inspectors, in an effort to repair their tarnished image and reassure their upscale clientele that they’re truly getting what they pay for.
But the mislabeling scandal there has finally threatened the corporation’s bottom line nationally, as formerly faithful shoppers everywhere demonstrate a show of no-confidence. So this week’s financial settlement is cheap in comparison.
