trade fair and milk

[v70cat]

I try to buy my milk at Italian Farms (80th Street & 37th Ave.) they keep a limit supply so it always fresh and cool.

[judibean]

I buy my milk at Tradefair because they carry the Farmland brand, which is hormone and antibiotic-free.  I haven't had problems with the milk but maybe I've just been lucky so far.  I recently noticed that Patel Bros also sells Farmland, and behind refrigerator doors at that, so I may start buying there instead.  It may be worth the extra effort lugging it home.

[Shelby2]

I happened to notice that 3 out of the 9 reviews for Trade Fair on yelp
mention products that are being sold way past the sell-by date, and one reviewer specifically mentions that she thinks the store is actually changing the sell-by date on some turkey products.

[CupcakeTownie]

Sorry to renew what feels like a painful thread, but I wanted to check in about issues at Trade Fair. Please someone correct me (nicely, plz) if I make any errors, but isn't there an item-pricing law in NY State? There used to be.  I find TradeFair to be in constant violation of this, or aspects of it. Either something isn't priced OR the price at checkout doesn't match either item price or shelf price. The discrepancies never seem to favor the customer, as would be the case if there was some kind of innocuous reason for it. No? Anyhow, that's one gripe I have about Trade Fair (talking of course about the one near 75th on 37th Ave).

Also, what's that smell back by the Russian bread section? Adjacent, ahem, to the spices and the edge of the chicken meat? I have some possible answers, but my question is largely a rhetorical one. Whatever it is, it doesn't seem right--and it's not something I've encountered at any other grocery store.

I have called 311 to complain about the pricing problem, but only did so once. It seems like a remarkable hassle (for such nickel and diming) and something that might be handled with a tough phone call from someone.  But who? Certainly an example of how little we can affect by ourselves and so I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced these kinds of problems...

[Chuckster]

My problem with Trade Fair is that the aisles are much too narrow making it difficult to shop.  They tried to fix this problem by expanding the market somewhat, but there's so much they can do to remedy it.  Because of this space issue, they have to stock some items on higher shelves, and of course the stuff I usually need is at the very top.  I prefer shopping at the Met for these reasons, and while I do stop into Trade Fair on occasion, I have to say that I haven't noticed any unusual smells in any of the aisles.

I'm posting a link to an abbreviated version of the New York City Protection Law.  While skimming through it, I found the following section that pertains to item pricing in food stores:

New York City Consumer Protection Law in Brief

5-67. ITEM PRICING IN FOOD STORES
Stores are required to mark individually the prices of most food items. This applies to stores, or chains, doing at least $2 million of business yearly. Exemptions include frozen foods and sales items that appear in special displays.

I'm not sure if this rule applies to Trade Fair though.  Does anyone know if these markets operate independently or are they under the control of the actual chain?  As a chain, I would imagine that the company does make the yearly $2 million.

[Really4rob]

I try to buy my milk at Italian Farms (80th Street & 37th Ave.) they keep a limit supply so it always fresh and cool.

I do this as well, even if I'm not getting anything at the deli counter!

[wait500]

I had either a bad jar of mayo or chicken from the Trade Fair on 30th Ave in Astoria/Woodside.  I had the entire range of food poisoning immediately after eating (and it was the only thing I ate that day) - fever, throwing up, other assorted fun things that ended as soon as the food was out of my system. I did not have a receipt but the chicken had the logo and the manager still gave me a hard time.  He said he would do it this time but never again! I am in the store 4 times a week and they know me.  I still shop there but I don't presume any more good will on the part of that store.  Its unfortunate.  I like being neighborly but now its merely convenient for me.

I still like TF's selection better than other markets.  And I like the checkout people.

[Lilybell]

I bought some cheese from Trade Fair and it smelled weird when I opened it - it had been expired for a month!  My fault for not checking, but still, that's ridiculous.

So I decided not to buy anything fresh from there.  Last week, I noticed that a frozen pizza I bought was also expired!  I never think to check the expiration date on frozen items. 

New decision: no more Trade Fair.  No big loss - I find the cashiers to be surly anyway.  I only went there when I was feeling too lazy to walk the extra few feet to the Met. 

[elyaqim]

I bought some cheese from Trade Fair and it smelled weird when I opened it - it had been expired for a month!  My fault for not checking, but still, that's ridiculous.

So I decided not to buy anything fresh from there.  Last week, I noticed that a frozen pizza I bought was also expired!  I never think to check the expiration date on frozen items. 

New decision: no more Trade Fair.  No big loss - I find the cashiers to be surly anyway.  I only went there when I was feeling too lazy to walk the extra few feet to the Met.

I don’t cook under any circumstances, so there are only a few limited items I purchase at Trade Fair, but I check the expiration dates on the packaged salads, cheese and cold cuts, the sour cream, and a few other things, and the dates are always well in the future. Maybe once I found a pre-prepared salad with an expiration date one day elapsed. And I know exactly the corner CupcakeTownie described, and I never noticed any strange smell (although I admit I don’t have an acute sense of smell).

Honestly, I might shop at Met Food more often if they didn’t close so unreasonably early for a night owl like me, but TF always has what I need and they have it at 03:00 or whatever ungodly hour I’m there. I also find the staff anything but surly: There’s an Egyptian cashier who’s always smiling and chatting with her customers and co-workers; I have three male cashiers in mind who are always eager to greet me; the night manager (or maybe plainclothes security guard) always breaks from his serious face to a huge smile when he sees me. The food may not be quite “premium,” but I certainly always feel loved. Because I’m often there during wee hours, it’s actually the customers who can sometimes be a little intimidating, especially when they exhibit signs of intoxication.