This week, the Department of Consumer Affairs announced the very disconcerting results of the latest fall supermarket inspections, and it turns out we're all getting ripped off: compliance rates have hit an all-time low of 33 percent, and there have been more than 750 charges against supermarkets in the last four months alone. They found that the most common violation was for a lack of item pricing, which according to the DCA resulted in city inspectors getting overcharged a third of the time (it's like their very own mini taxi overcharging scandal!). So in light of that, some are wondering if it's time supermarkets started getting letter grades.
Councilman Oliver Koppell suggested the supermarket grading system at a City Council hearing on the results of the inspections. Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jonathan Mintz, who has chided supermarkets for the alleged overcharging, liked the idea, but added that a lot of study would be needed to see if it would be realistic to give out A, B, and C grades like the Health Department now does with restaurants. This year, after much prodding from State Senator Jeff Klein, NYC introduced the letter-grade system, which requires NYC restaurants to prominently display their cleanliness ratings in windows or entryways.
Of course, the vice president of the Food Industry Alliance, which represents 800 supermarkets, was against such a grading system—though he did say it would be OK to have one on the internet, presumably since nobody would see it. He wasn't the only one defending supermarkets: Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz questioned why supermarkets were getting such a bad reputation due to just one infraction: "It's not like the store is trying to hide something." Mintz was confused, since Koslowitz was the person who helped introduce the law they were upholding, which requires prominent item pricing. "I guess if your perspective is that we're overenforcing a law that you helped pass, ironically, we have a difference in perspective," he said.
