Ralph's cited for false advertising of grapes
Ralph's cited for false advertising of grapes
Ralph's Grocery Co., a division of The Kroger Co. in Cincinnati and two chains it operates have been cited for state violations in stores in California for falsely advertising grapes grown in Mexico as California-grown grapes.
The first set of infractions involves 48 Food 4 Less and Foods Co. stores. The infractions involved advertisements that went out in June 29 store fliers and on the Food 4 Less/Foods Co. web site that show seedless green grapes selling for 67 cents a pound -- well below the market for California-grown seedless green grapes.
The recognizable "CA Grown" license plate logo appears in the ad and caused an uproar by California table grape growers in Coachella Valley -- the launching pad for the several-year-old "California Grown campaign of the Buy California program. Blaine Carian, a grape grower and vice president of Desert Fresh in Coachella, CA, was the first to report the erroneous ad. Mr. Carian had seen the ad in a friend's flier on June 30.
The second set of infractions was discovered July 6 on ads that came out that day. These infractions involved an ad for all Ralph's stores throughout California for fresh Red Globe grapes at $1.99 a pound. In this instance, a friend of Mr. Carian saw the ad and called him, and once again Mr. Carian alerted state authorities.
Robert Bianco, a partner in Coachella, CA-based Anthony Vineyards, told The Produce News July 6 that Anthony Vineyards grows "99 percent of the volume of the state's Red Globe grapes and that he hasn't sold any to Ralph's. Mr. Bianco said that Coachella Valley grower Gordon Chuchian is the only other grower in California who currently has Red Globe grapes. Mr. Chuchian told The Produce News July 6 that he's picked about 1,800 boxes of Red Globes and that he "knows for a fact that they didn't go to Ralph's.
Mr. Bianco said that the false advertising isn't fair to "Albertson's and Safeway, who support the Californian Grown campaign with table grapes. Both he and Mr. Carian said that Ralph's only buys table grapes from Coachella Valley growers in late July or August when it can't get what it needs from Mexico. Unlike the low-priced ad for seedless green grapes at 67 cents a pound, the ad at $1.99 per pound for Red Globe grapes "is not a cheap ad, and price alone wouldn't be a red flag that the ad is false, Mr. Bianco said.
After Mr. Carian contacted authorities for the first set of infractions, a spot-check by California Department of Food & Agriculture at five stores -- including Cathedral City -- revealed that all had Mexican green seedless grapes on their shelves. Mr. Carian perused the Food 4 Less/Foods Co. web site to see ads on-line and discovered that 48 stores in California and nine in Nevada were on ad for the seedless green grapes wrongfully billed as being grown in California.
The Cathedral City Food 4 Less store was inspected by the Riverside Agricultural Commissioners office and found to be stocking Mexican grapes while advertising "California Grown. Keith Selnick, supervisor of agricultural standards investigations for the Riverside County Agricultural Commissioner's office, wrote up the notice of violation for the Cathedral City store June 30, the first of the 48 stores in violation to be cited in this instance with a 43100 code violation, which prohibits items being falsely sold at retail using the "California Grown logo.
The Cathedral City Food 4 Less store corrected the problem within 24 hours by placing signs in the front of the store and by the grapes, Mr. Selnick said. In a letter of correction issued by Food 4 Less, the company blamed the problem on an inadvertent "printing error in its June 29 mailer and apologized "for any inconvenience this may have caused. A disclaimer reads, "Seedless Green Grapes advertised in this week's ad are from Mexico.
Riverside County Agricultural Commissioner John Snyder told The Produce News July 6 that his staff was in the process of visiting Ralph's stores in the county and that the false ad problem "seems to be across the board. Upon notification, Ralph's quickly alerted its stores to the problem, he said.
Reached after the green seedless ad violations, Gary
Rhodes, a spokesman for The Kroger Co., said that the erroneous ad "was a mistake on our part and said that all offending stores were quickly notified of the mistake when the issue was brought to the attention of Ralph's Grocery Co. Food 4 Less and Foods Co. stores that ran the erroneous ads "posted corrections by the checkouts and by the grapes, Mr. Rhodes said.
Steve Lyle, director of public affairs with the California Department of Food & Agriculture, said that both sets of violations are under review by the state department's general counsel. It has yet to be determined if Ralph's Grocery Co. will be fined, but Mr. Lyle said that parameters for a fine in this situation run anywhere from $100 to $3,000 per bag of grapes falsely marketed and on display in the stores. In the second set of infractions involving Red Globe grapes, in addition to disclaimers Ralph's was ordered to post in California stores July 6, CDFA ordered Ralph's stores to remove in-store price placards that refer to the grapes as "California Grown.
Mr. Lyle referred to the matter as a "rarity and said it's unusual to have such an issue be as widespread as it is. He said that CDFA intervention "is not directed at any retailer in particular and that it will respond as appropriate when such issues as this arise.
Scott Horsfall, chief executive officer with the Buy California program, said that the program depends on volume use by retailers. He said that while Ralph's operates both Food 4 Less and Foods Co., he believes Ralph's has its own separate buying and advertising operations, and that the advertising decisions are made "chain by chain. Ralph's officials could not be reached for comment by deadline.
"Ralph's has been a strong supporter of the [California Grown] program, Mr. Horsfall said. "They were the first chain to use the logo.
Still, erroneous ads can mislead and confuse consumers and need to be addressed, he said. A bigger problem than false ads is misleading consumers at the point of sale, he said.
Mr. Horsfall said that these table grape ads represent the first time that Ralph's' has been linked to false use of the "California Grown campaign.
Reached after the first set of infractions, California Table Grape Commission President Kathleen Nave said that it's important "that consumers know what they're buying, adding that the state did a "terrific job and that's it's important "for the integrity of the [Buy California] program.
Ms. Nave said that she fielded a lot of phone calls following Mr. Carian's discovery of the erroneous green seedless ad. The commission served as an information conduit, but it's really a California Grown issue, Ms. Nave said.
"I think Food 4 Less was very responsive to the state. That's to their credit, she said.
The green seedless ad was a short-term ad leading into the Fourth of July weekend. Fourth of July is a big weekend for consumers to buy grapes, therefore the violation had to be dealt with immediately, Ms. Nave said, adding that false advertising isn't fair to other retailers in California and elsewhere, and it's not fair to consumers.
The first set of infractions involves 48 Food 4 Less and Foods Co. stores. The infractions involved advertisements that went out in June 29 store fliers and on the Food 4 Less/Foods Co. web site that show seedless green grapes selling for 67 cents a pound -- well below the market for California-grown seedless green grapes.
The recognizable "CA Grown" license plate logo appears in the ad and caused an uproar by California table grape growers in Coachella Valley -- the launching pad for the several-year-old "California Grown campaign of the Buy California program. Blaine Carian, a grape grower and vice president of Desert Fresh in Coachella, CA, was the first to report the erroneous ad. Mr. Carian had seen the ad in a friend's flier on June 30.
The second set of infractions was discovered July 6 on ads that came out that day. These infractions involved an ad for all Ralph's stores throughout California for fresh Red Globe grapes at $1.99 a pound. In this instance, a friend of Mr. Carian saw the ad and called him, and once again Mr. Carian alerted state authorities.
Robert Bianco, a partner in Coachella, CA-based Anthony Vineyards, told The Produce News July 6 that Anthony Vineyards grows "99 percent of the volume of the state's Red Globe grapes and that he hasn't sold any to Ralph's. Mr. Bianco said that Coachella Valley grower Gordon Chuchian is the only other grower in California who currently has Red Globe grapes. Mr. Chuchian told The Produce News July 6 that he's picked about 1,800 boxes of Red Globes and that he "knows for a fact that they didn't go to Ralph's.
Mr. Bianco said that the false advertising isn't fair to "Albertson's and Safeway, who support the Californian Grown campaign with table grapes. Both he and Mr. Carian said that Ralph's only buys table grapes from Coachella Valley growers in late July or August when it can't get what it needs from Mexico. Unlike the low-priced ad for seedless green grapes at 67 cents a pound, the ad at $1.99 per pound for Red Globe grapes "is not a cheap ad, and price alone wouldn't be a red flag that the ad is false, Mr. Bianco said.
After Mr. Carian contacted authorities for the first set of infractions, a spot-check by California Department of Food & Agriculture at five stores -- including Cathedral City -- revealed that all had Mexican green seedless grapes on their shelves. Mr. Carian perused the Food 4 Less/Foods Co. web site to see ads on-line and discovered that 48 stores in California and nine in Nevada were on ad for the seedless green grapes wrongfully billed as being grown in California.
The Cathedral City Food 4 Less store was inspected by the Riverside Agricultural Commissioners office and found to be stocking Mexican grapes while advertising "California Grown. Keith Selnick, supervisor of agricultural standards investigations for the Riverside County Agricultural Commissioner's office, wrote up the notice of violation for the Cathedral City store June 30, the first of the 48 stores in violation to be cited in this instance with a 43100 code violation, which prohibits items being falsely sold at retail using the "California Grown logo.
The Cathedral City Food 4 Less store corrected the problem within 24 hours by placing signs in the front of the store and by the grapes, Mr. Selnick said. In a letter of correction issued by Food 4 Less, the company blamed the problem on an inadvertent "printing error in its June 29 mailer and apologized "for any inconvenience this may have caused. A disclaimer reads, "Seedless Green Grapes advertised in this week's ad are from Mexico.
Riverside County Agricultural Commissioner John Snyder told The Produce News July 6 that his staff was in the process of visiting Ralph's stores in the county and that the false ad problem "seems to be across the board. Upon notification, Ralph's quickly alerted its stores to the problem, he said.
Reached after the green seedless ad violations, Gary
Rhodes, a spokesman for The Kroger Co., said that the erroneous ad "was a mistake on our part and said that all offending stores were quickly notified of the mistake when the issue was brought to the attention of Ralph's Grocery Co. Food 4 Less and Foods Co. stores that ran the erroneous ads "posted corrections by the checkouts and by the grapes, Mr. Rhodes said.
Steve Lyle, director of public affairs with the California Department of Food & Agriculture, said that both sets of violations are under review by the state department's general counsel. It has yet to be determined if Ralph's Grocery Co. will be fined, but Mr. Lyle said that parameters for a fine in this situation run anywhere from $100 to $3,000 per bag of grapes falsely marketed and on display in the stores. In the second set of infractions involving Red Globe grapes, in addition to disclaimers Ralph's was ordered to post in California stores July 6, CDFA ordered Ralph's stores to remove in-store price placards that refer to the grapes as "California Grown.
Mr. Lyle referred to the matter as a "rarity and said it's unusual to have such an issue be as widespread as it is. He said that CDFA intervention "is not directed at any retailer in particular and that it will respond as appropriate when such issues as this arise.
Scott Horsfall, chief executive officer with the Buy California program, said that the program depends on volume use by retailers. He said that while Ralph's operates both Food 4 Less and Foods Co., he believes Ralph's has its own separate buying and advertising operations, and that the advertising decisions are made "chain by chain. Ralph's officials could not be reached for comment by deadline.
"Ralph's has been a strong supporter of the [California Grown] program, Mr. Horsfall said. "They were the first chain to use the logo.
Still, erroneous ads can mislead and confuse consumers and need to be addressed, he said. A bigger problem than false ads is misleading consumers at the point of sale, he said.
Mr. Horsfall said that these table grape ads represent the first time that Ralph's' has been linked to false use of the "California Grown campaign.
Reached after the first set of infractions, California Table Grape Commission President Kathleen Nave said that it's important "that consumers know what they're buying, adding that the state did a "terrific job and that's it's important "for the integrity of the [Buy California] program.
Ms. Nave said that she fielded a lot of phone calls following Mr. Carian's discovery of the erroneous green seedless ad. The commission served as an information conduit, but it's really a California Grown issue, Ms. Nave said.
"I think Food 4 Less was very responsive to the state. That's to their credit, she said.
The green seedless ad was a short-term ad leading into the Fourth of July weekend. Fourth of July is a big weekend for consumers to buy grapes, therefore the violation had to be dealt with immediately, Ms. Nave said, adding that false advertising isn't fair to other retailers in California and elsewhere, and it's not fair to consumers.
