Whole Foods apologizes for price fixing on prepackaged items

NEW YORK - Whole Foods Market is apologizing to its shoppers for incorrect pricing, a week after a New York investigation found that the natural food grocer routinely overcharged for prepackaged fruits, vegetables and deli meats.

Although the investigation involved eight stores in New York city, New York’s Department of Consumer Affairs found that overcharging was a regular practice. After testing 80 prepackaged items, all had mislabeled weights in the eight stores.

Whole Foods co-CEOs, Walter Robb and John Mackey acknowledged the ‘mistakes,’ in a YouTube video posted Wednesday, July 2. Mackey said in the YouTube video there was a "very small percentage" of weighing errors with items made in stores, including sandwiches, fresh juices, and cut fruits. Robb and Mackey said that the pricing mistakes were unintentional.

Based in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market Inc. operates 422 stores around the world. A new location opened in The Woodlands, Texas, March 18, 2015, at 1925 Hughes Landing Blvd. It’s uncertain if this has been a practice at the other 414 stores, but Robb and Mackey said the company will increase its training at stores around the county.

"We apologize to our customers for any discrepancies that may have occurred," the company said in blog post. Going forward, Whole Foods will give items away for free if customers discover they were overcharged.