July 28, 2008

Inspectors from the Westchester County Department of Consumer Protection checked milk prices at 65 retailers recently and found an overwhelming number of them charging on some items more than the threshold set by the state. 

The results of the county’s inspections, done at the direction of County Executive Andy Spano, will be turned over to the state Department of Agriculture and Markets (“AG and Markets”), which sets the threshold and enforces the law. Currently, the threshold for a half gallon is $2.24 and for a full gallon, $4.37.

According to Gary Brown, director of the consumer office, inspectors found that 49 of the 65 stores surveyed (75 percent) charged a price on at least one milk product line that was higher than the threshold.  (For other products, the stores may have been charging at or under the threshold.)  

There are hundreds of retailers in the county that sell milk. The 65 stores checked included a representative cross-section of supermarkets, convenience stores, gas stations and chain pharmacies. Brown noted that prices within chains tend to be similar, but could vary by geographic zone. 

The county survey did not include specialty milk products such as organic and lactaid milk, which generally sell at significantly higher prices. 

“These results are disturbing, especially for families with children,” said Brown. “We call on retailers to abide by the milk price gouging law.”

In addition, he noted, there was a great disparity of prices found in stores that were checked. For a gallon of milk, prices differed by $2.41 between the cheapest and most expensive stores, and for a half-gallon prices differed by $2.27.

The state milk price gouging law has been on the books since 1991, designed to protect consumers against “unconscionably excessive” prices.  The law requires AG and Markets to set a monthly threshold for the price of milk in two areas of the state –  the metropolitan New York area (including Westchester) and upstate. 

If AG and Markets believes a retailer is price gouging, it sends a letter to the retailer giving the store an opportunity to lower its price, or to provide proof that the price is not “unconscionably excessive” (i.e., to provide justification for a higher price).

If a store does not lower its price or provide justification for its higher price, the case can be referred to the Attorney General’s office for enforcement. (See end of release for list of stores charging above the threshold for at least one unit of milk and those found in full compliance.)

The lowest prices for a gallon were found at  BJ’s in Yorktown ($3.08 for skim and $3.50 for whole,) CostCo in Yonkers ($3.19 for 1% and $3.55 for whole), Wal-Mart in White Plains ($3.28 for skim and $3.54 for whole) and Whole Foods Market in White Plains ($3.69 for all grades). Currently, the threshold for a gallon is $4.37

For a half-gallon, inspectors found the lowest prices at Wal-Mart in White Plains, which charged $1.73 for skim and $1.91 for whole, CVS stores in Mamaroneck and North White Plains, which charged $1.79 for all grades of milk, and Stew Leonard’s in Yonkers, DeCicco’s in Ardsley and Pelham, and Whole Foods Market in White Plains, all of which charged $1.99. Currently, the threshold for a half gallon is $2.24.

By comparison, Post Road Sunoco in White Plains charged $4 per half-gallon, Exxon on Main Street in New Rochelle charged $3.19; and Lord’s Farm in Mamaroneck, Imperial Milk in Larchmont, and Union Food in White Plains all charged $2.99.  Post Road Sunoco in White Plains charged $5.49 per gallon for all grades of milk; while Lord’s Farm in Mamaroneck, Exxon in New Rochelle, Gristedes in Scarsdale, Union Food Market in White Plains, and Stop & Shop in Somers, Eastchester, Dobbs Ferry and White Plains, all charged $4.99.
 
List of stores in survey charging above threshold for at least one product line
(Some of these stores also sold products of milk at or below the threshold price)

• A&P:  Goldens Bridge, Hastings, Katonah, Millwood,  Mohegan Lake,  Scarsdale, Yorktown
• Apple Farm, White Plains
• Balducci’s, Scarsdale
• C-Town, Peekskill
• City Supermarket, White Plains
• D’Agostino, Chappaqua, Rye Brook
• DeCicco’s, Ardsley, Jefferson Valley, Pelham,  Scarsdale
• Exxon, New Rochelle (Main St.)   
• Fine Fare, Yonkers
• Food Emporium: New Rochelle, Yorktown
• Golden Village Market, Scarsdale
• Gristedes, Scarsdale
• Hess, Mamaroneck
• Imperial Milk, Larchmont
• Key Food, Pleasantville
• Kmart, White Plains
• La Colomena II, White Plains
• Larchmont Meateria, Larchmont
• Lord’s Farm, Mamaroneck
• Main Supermarket, New Rochelle
• Mobil Mart, White Plains
• Morton Williams, Scarsdale
• Park Deli, Port Chester
• Pathmark, Scarsdale
• Post Road Market, Rye
• Post Road Sunoco, White Plains
• ShopRite, Cortlandt,  Yonkers
• Stop & Shop, Dobbs Ferry,  Eastchester,  Somers, White Plains
• Stop 1, Mamaroneck, Port Chester
• Sunoco A+, New Rochelle
• Trader Joe’s, Hartsdale
• Union Food, White Plains
• Walgreens, Port Chester

List of stores in survey where all milk items were at or below the threshold price

• Best Food Buy, New Rochelle
• BJ’s, Yorktown
• C-Town, Eastchester, Ossining
• CostCo, New Rochelle, Yonkers
• CVS, Mamaroneck, North White Plains
• Food City, Harrison
• Foodtown, Yonkers
• Stew Leonard’s, Yonkers
• Target, White Plains
• Top Tomato, Yonkers
• Turco’s, Yorktown
• Walmart, White Plains
• Whole Foods Market, White Plains