HT pulls mislabeled oil but Newman's Own stays mum. Attorney General notified.

I'm surprised and disappointed by the lack of response from Newman's Own Organics to my complaint about the label and price for the big bottle of olive oil being on the small bottle. If it was a one-time error involving "only" a few thousand bottles that they chose to handle responsibly, then why not let me know? But I have not gotten a response to my follow-up emails or phone call.

A wall of silence when a manufacturer is found mispresenting a product is not acceptable. While this problem is trivial compared to the egg debacle, it could mean that thousands of customers paid $15 for a $10 bottle of olive oil and that mislabeled bottles are still on the shelves.

And worse, it weakens the food labeling laws. The point is not to just have a random label on the product. It's to have a label that accurately informs the customer about the contents.

Grocery chain Harris Teeter is doing the right thing, though. I bought my bottle at Harris Teeter in Cameron Village. The manager (Steve) pulled the mislabeled bottles off the shelves when I notified him of the problem and has contacted HT corporate quality assurance. In a follow-up call, Steve assured me that the mislabeled bottles are no longer on the shelves at Harris Teeter.

So I've filed a complaint with the North Carolina Attorney General's office. The complaint form asked me what I'd consider to be a fair resolution. Here's my response:

Newman's Own should contact the stores that might have mislabeled bottles and make sure that customers are not being overcharged or misinformed. They should offer a 50%-off coupon to people who may have been overcharged. I would like to hear their response. A wall of silence in a food-related problem is unacceptable.