Individual Food Price Tags No Longer Required in Mass.

The law that goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2013 allows store owners to place scanners in the aisles, making shoppers do their own price checks, instead of individually marking each item.

Starting on New Year's Day 2013, Massachuetts is the last state in the union to abolish a law requiring individual price tags on all food items. Instead of having the prices marked on every item, as has been the law since 1987, grocery stores can now install aisle price scanners every 5,000 square feet that would display the prices of scanned items. Gov. Deval Patrick signed the bill into law in July after earlier passing in the House and Senate—with only two senators in session. The bill, called "An Act relative to clear and conspicuous price disclosure," has been strongly supported for years by the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, who argued that the current system creates less accurate pricing, lowers the level of service for …

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Salmonella Alert: Nut Spread Recall Expands, Includes Almond, Organic

A Salmonella outbreak led to more than 100 nut butter spreads recalled. Check out the complete list.

Melrose, be on the lookout — a peanut butter recall that began at Trader Joe's late September was expanded recently to more than 100 peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter and Tahini and roasted blanched peanut products made by Sunland Inc.'s Portales, N.M. plant. The voluntary recall was initiated after reports of 30 people infected between June 11 and Sept. 2 with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Bredeney from 19 states possibly linked to the peanut and almond butter surfaced, according to news releases from the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Four people have been hospitalized in connection with the illness; however, no fatalities have been reported. "There is nothing more important to …

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Great Convenience/Grocery Stores in the Boston Area

If you need to get groceries while (only slightly) out of town, check out any of these businesses.

We asked readers this week about their favorite spots to pick up a dozen eggs or a gallon of milk. Check out some of these places our readers named as their favorites right here in the greater Boston area: Back Bay: Trader Joe's, 899 Boylston Street Beacon Hill: Charles Street Market, 66 Charles St Stoneham: Stop & Shop Supermarket, 259 Main Street Wakefield: The Farmland, 415 Main St.  Charlestown: Foodmaster, 5 Austin St. Melrose: Foodmaster, 880 Main Street Malden: Super Stop & Shop, 60 Broadway Somerville: Market Basket, 400 Somerville Ave. Medford: Stop & Shop, 760 Fellsway Arlington: D'Agostino's, 1297 Mass Ave. South End: Foodie's Urban Market, 1421 Washington St.

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Readers' Choice Best Grocery Store: Foodmaster Supermarkets

The store received the most votes in this week's poll.

For this week's Patch Readers' Choice contest, we turned to you to discover the best grocery or convenience store in Melrose. Between Monday and Friday, 52 people voted for their favorite place to buy food.  And the winner is...Foodmaster Supermarkets- also known as Johnnie's. The grocery store received the most votes of the seven candidates. The store has a bakery and deli and also posts weekly specials online. It also provides catering and delivery and can fulfill Web orders.  Next week, we'll poll you on the best place to celebrate a graduation in the city. Voting starts Monday morning and goes through Friday at 9 a.m. 

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Readers' Choice: Best Grocery or Convenience Store in Melrose?

Please vote for your favorite place by taking our poll. Then click on the directory link and write a short review.

There are many places to shop for food in Melrose, but which one is the best? That's the question we're posing to you for this week's Patch Readers' Choice contest.  Here are some of our favorite ones, but if we're leaving a business off the list, please let us know in the comments section, and we'll add it.  Voting in the poll below is open until 9 a.m. Friday. Because this poll is not scientific, it is not the sole consideration in choosing a winner. The winner will be determined by the Patch editor, based on poll results and reviews on Patch Places. Please vote only once per survey, per Patch.

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Daniel DeMaina

8:45 am on Monday, May 14, 2012

Good point Michelle, thanks. I'll add Common Market to the list.   more ›

Patch Picks

Best Vegetarian and Vegan Options in Melrose

For this week's Patch Picks, we asked where to find the best vegetarian meals in restaurants and the best places to buy vegan products.

Finding vegetarian and vegan food at restaurants and grocery stores has become easier over the last decade, but the best stuff can be difficult to find if you don't know where to look.  So to help out your neighbors who don't eat meat or meat products, we asked for your tips for the best vegetarian and vegan options in Melrose (or nearby). Here's what you told us, mostly through our Facebook Page:

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POLL: Which Local Grocery Store Do You Prefer?

Each of us has a favorite, despite its flaws. Tell us what yours is by taking our poll.

People often have very specific reasons for shopping at certain grocery stores, and we at Melrose Patch bet you do, too, whether it be for the sales, the quality of the produce, the availability of employees or the relative ease of parking.  So tell us where you shop in the poll and why in the comments section below. 

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Betsey Benagh

6:39 am on Monday, November 21, 2011

Amanda, I agree. In fact, I noticed yesterday at Johnnies' that the imported San Marzano tomatoes were more expensive there than at Whole Foods. I mostly stay away from the prepared foods, but they are a fun (and tasty) splurge on occasion.   more ›