Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)
BY KERRY LEARY
Attention all Whole Foods shoppers — you may want to check that chicken — or soy
chick'n — salad you packed for lunch today. The supermarket mistakenly mixed up labels
for chicken salad and the vegan chick'n salad at some stores' cold food bars earlier this
week.
Whole Foods made the announcement Thursday. The mislabeled salads — curried chicken
salad and vegan curried soy chick'n salad were sold Tuesday and Wednesday in 15 stores
throughout the Northeast. (Via NECN)
Interestingly enough, the supermarket's admission of the mix-up comes the same day
as praise for its business model and recent success. An earnings report released Wednesday
announced a 13.6 percent increase in overall sales, but that's not because the store raised
prices.
Slate Magazine reports Whole Foods has a lot of fixed costs associated with keeping stores
open. This makes it easier for profit margins to improve when more people shop because the
fixed costs are spread across a larger number of items sold.
Business Insider says traditional supermarkets are in trouble because Whole Foods is succeeding
in smaller markets and less affluent areas because of lower prices and more sales.
This salad mix-up could be something quite serious if a consumer has a severe allergic
reaction to egg, or to soy products, and they purchased the incorrect container of food.
But a writer for Eater notes, "Whole Foods says that no illnesses have been reported
by meat-eaters who might be allergic to the soy in the vegan version or by vegans who
might be allergic to the egg in the regular version. There's no word, however, on the
psychological damages that either might have suffered."
The stores are recalling both salads and posting signs in stores Friday.