If you think that's a lot ...

Image via Wikipedia

How much would you pay for organic strawberries?

My dry cleaners is in the same shopping center as the ShopRite in Rochelle Park, so after dropping off two pairs of pants, I went into the supermarket, looking for Jersey Fresh blueberries.


Two for $5, a bit pricey. A&P is selling a six-pint pack for $6.99 with a store card through Thursday.


Large red or black seedless grapes are on sale for 99 cents a pound with the A&P card.


At ShopRite, a pound of organic strawberries were $2.99 with a store card, twice the price of conventional strawberries. 


If you think that's a lot, I saw organic strawberries at Whole Foods Market in Paramus for $3.99 a pound.


I bought one pack of the ShopRite organic strawberries, because I've read that fruit gets more pesticides than any other.


At Fairway Market in Paramus, a whole beef tenderloin for filet mignon is $6.99 a pound (4-to-6-pound average).


ShopRite often puts the same cut of beef -- from free-range, grass-fed cattle in Australia -- on sale for $4.99 a pound with a store card.

How low can they go on beef prices?

Image via Wikipedia

Three supermarket circulars came with the newspaper this morning, offering beef for $1.47 to $5.99 a pound.


The A&P flier declares: "We will not be undersold!" USDA choice, boneless top round London broil is on sale for $1.47 a pound. Choice is one of the three grades U.S. agricultural officials assign to beef: prime, choice and select.



The Pathmark circular offers USDA choice New York strip steak for $4.99 a pound ("save up to $5 a pound").


At Fairway Market in Paramus, "whole, fully trimmed beef" for filet mignon is on sale for $5.99 a pound, but there is no indication whether this meat was raised in the U.S. or what grade it might be. Fairway usually features USDA prime beef in its circulars (prime has the most fat or marbling), but the absence of that phrase in today's circular might prompt you to ask questions at the store.


Only the Pathmark flier says anything about how the beef was raised. Its steaks are "Western grain fed." You can assume the beef sold by the three stores was raised conventionally with antibiotics, growth hormones and animal byproducts.


Contrast these sales with the $3.99 to $4.99 a pound charged by ShopRite  when it has a sale on free-range, grass-fed beef  from Australia. In March, A&P and Pathmark had Australian leg of lamb on sale for $1.99 a pound -- the lowest I had ever seen.

Free-range Australian lamb for $1.99 a pound

Image via Wikipedia

For Easter, A&P and Pathmark are discounting free-range, grass-fed Australian leg of lamb for only $1.99 a pound. The sale at both starts today.

The Pathmark ad doesn't specify the country of origin, though it's likely Australia or New Zealand, where lower costs allow ranchers to raise their animals naturally, without antibiotics, growth hormones or animal by-products. You need a Pathmark card to get the sale price. I haven't seen the ShopRite circular to compare prices.

The leg of  lamb is semi-boneless.

At Fairway Market in Paramus, conventionally raised American leg of lamb with the bone is $5.69 a pound. So you can see what a great deal Pathmark and A&P are offering. Unfortunately, even though lamb is an all-time favorite, I won't be buying any because of our meatless-meal pledge.

Peddling hype at the supermarket

Premium is a word some supermarkets love to use, even though it is meaningless. All natural is a phrase favored by food producers who are trying to hide the unnatural things they do to the animals they raise.

You'll find lots of similar words and phrases in the sale circulars of North Jersey supermarkets, including A&P and Pathmark. (A&P owns Pathmark.)

Pathmark says its marinated top round London broil, sliced chicken breast and rotisserie chicken are "gold quality." So is the domestic Swiss cheese it sells. There's no indication that the beef or poultry are raised on vegetarian feed and without antibiotics or growth hormones.

At A&P, 1855-brand boneless center-cut pork chops are "all natural, premium." The Angus boneless top round London broil is "premium gold," but only USDA Choice, the middle grade of three used to classify beef. Marinated meats are "gold quality" and Plumrose sliced bacon is described as "premium." Again, we are told nothing about how the animals were raised or whether the bacon has harmful preservatives

A&P's circular trumpets "See Red & Save," referring to "Red Tag Savings." Circulars that are filled with hype are just making me see red.