Stop & Shop hit with $75K penalty after spoiled meat scandal erupts in Ocean County
Toms River, NJ – A sweeping investigation into spoiled meat sales and deceptive product labeling at Stop & Shop supermarkets has ended in a $75,000 penalty and strict oversight requirements, following a Consent Agreement between the retailer and the Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs.
It began with a foul complaint from a customer at the Toms River Stop & Shop, where shoppers reported buying spoiled beef and poultry. What started as a single-site probe quickly expanded to all five Stop & Shop locations in Ocean County. Investigators discovered a disturbing pattern: meat products were being mislabeled with display dates instead of actual packaging dates, giving consumers the false impression that products were fresher than they truly were.
Investigators uncovered that some expiration dates extended beyond safe wholesaler recommendations, and in one instance, a box of wholesale meat delivered in February wasn’t opened until March—yet was labeled as if it had just been packaged.
Ocean County officials said Stop & Shop no longer uses in-store butchers and instead relies heavily on off-site wholesalers to supply pre-packaged products. These practices, officials said, opened the door to systemic mislabeling that created a significant public health risk.
Despite initial attempts by Stop & Shop to downplay the issue as a “mislabeling” problem, County Counsel Laura Comer and Consumer Affairs Director Ronald Heinzman pushed back, resulting in a legally binding Consent Agreement. The company will pay $75,000 in fines and must implement stronger safeguards across all 46 of its New Jersey locations to prevent future violations.
The case was handled by investigators Andrew Chencharik and Anthony Fontana, with oversight from County Counsel Comer. The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office and the Division of Consumer Affairs were also notified, ensuring broader scrutiny beyond Ocean County.