Monday, January 28, 2013
State stops sale of cheap milk
For Lafayette stockbroker Kenneth Daigle, buying a gallon of milk is no longer the bargain it used to be on Tuesdays at Fresh Market.
The upscale supermarket chain yanked milk from its $2.99 once-a-week promotion after a state auditor objected to the low price. A gallon of whole milk was priced at $5.69 Thursday at the Fresh Market in Perkins Rowe.
State Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain said Fresh Market violated state regulations by selling milk below cost as part of a promotion.
The supermarket routinely sells a gallon of skim, 1 percent, 2 percent or whole milk for $2.99 on Tuesdays, limiting the quantity to four per customer.
State law requires retailers’ markups to be no less than 6 percent of the invoice cost after adding freight charges.
The Dairy Stabilization Board oversees milk prices in Louisiana. The board was established after Schwegmann, a New Orleans-area grocery chain, launched a legal battle in the 1970s with the Louisiana Milk Commission to buy milk from out-of-state suppliers because it was cheaper.
The issue over Fresh Market’s milk involves the cost of milk to consumers rather than the price paid to farmers.
“They can sell it 6 percent over cost all day long. It’s when they sell it below cost that it becomes a problem,” Strain said.
Full article: http://theadvocate.c … -stops-sale-of-cheap
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