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Infants At Risk as Store Sells Outdated Products

What: Press Conference When: Thursday, December 17, 2009, 11 a.m.

Where: 272 E. Santa Clara St. (Corner of 7th St.) in San Jose California

San Jose Ethnic Supermarket Selling Expired Products More Than a Year Old, Endangering Infants; Local Community Groups Call on Owner to Stop

SAN JOSE - A supermarket here with a long history of selling expired food products more than a year past the expiration date and which pose a real health hazard to consumers - especially infants - will be asked to sign a "code of conduct" here Thursday at a news conference.

The briefing - which will include displays of the expired products purchased at Su Vianda Supermarket by undercover shoppers - is sponsored by Justice for Mercado Workers Coalition, which says Su Vianda Supermarket has sold out-of-code food products to the mostly Latino community for years.

Last year, the Coalition first made public Su Vianda's practices. Undercover shoppers have since acquired more than one hundred expired food products from the shelves of Su Vianda.

In one instance the practice has endangered infants. The Coalition found three (3) small jars of Gerber Veal Gravy for infants nearly a year old - with expiration dates 253 days before the date of purchase. Jars of Ragu Spaghetti Sauce were expired for more than a year - 476 days.

Local community residents, organizations and consumer advocates are outraged by such unfair business practices; they will be calling on Su Vianda to stop employing such measures and become a good neighbor - especially to Latino families who are the main patrons of this store. The Coalition urges local City Elected Officials to intervene to help stop such abuses.