THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 16, 1995 TAG: 9502160408
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
It's another public relations nightmare for Food Lion.
A union-affiliated coalition for the second time accused the giant supermarket chain of selling outdated baby formula. And once again, the Salisbury, N.C.-based company and government regulators cried foul.
``I find their figures somewhat unbelievable,'' said Carroll Sellers, senior retail food inspector for the Food and Drug Administration's southeastern district.
In its study of 116 Food Lion stores, the Washington-based coalition found that 24 were selling outdated baby formula. Two of the stores were in Norfolk: one on Tidewater Drive and the other on North Military Highway, according to the study.
Consumers United, which is linked to the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, released the study earlier this week. The study, conducted in December and January, mirrored another by the coalition last year.
Food Lion spokesman Brian Peace challenged the group's credibility and said that the study should have included other supermarket chains. He accused the coalition of picking on unionless Food Lion because the chain is expanding into UFCW territory.
The coalition, which is funded by the Food and Allied Services Trades department of the AFL-CIO, disagreed. The UFCW also is a member of the AFL-CIO.
``The campaign we have is against outdated products at Food Lion,'' said Bob Harbrant, president of the Food and Allied Services Trades Department. ``If they clear up the problem, we won't have anything to talk about.''
After a ``PrimeTime Live'' broadcast showed secretly recorded footage of Food Lion workers repacking old meat and changing expiration dates, the coalition wanted to make sure the chain followed up on its pledge to consumers, Harbrant said. So, the group began checking the chain's grocery stores.
``This problem has not gone away,'' Harbrant said.
Manufacturers generally use conservative dates on baby formula, said Toni Radler, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. But after a while, the vitamins in baby formula may begin to lose potency, she said.
``This is not a safety issue,'' Radler said.
Also, FDA inspector Sellers said the coalition's study doesn't match his agency's findings.
``In my report I say there is not a problem,'' he said. ``I can tell you that Food Lion is one of the best or the best.''
The FDA inspected 63 Food Lion stores, including 15 in Virginia, from August 1993 to March 1994. They found only one store with outdated infant formula on display, and those cans were dumped, Harbrant said.
In another investigation, outdated formula was found in about 25 percent of the 51 retailers randomly inspected by the FDA. None of the five Food Lion stores or warehouses listed in the investigation carried old formula. The study was conducted in six states, including Virginia and North Carolina. by CNB